KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Monday directed the investigating officer to submit the charge sheet against six suspects held for allegedly kidnapping a newborn baby from a private hospital.

Two nurses at the Ahmed Medical Complex in Federal B Area, Reenum and Shirina, along with Syed Waqas, Humaira, Kanwal and Bushra, have been booked and arrested for allegedly abducting the infant.

On Monday, the investigating officer produced Humaira, Kanwal and Bushra before the judicial magistrate (Central) on the expiry of their physical remand and requested to extend the same for interrogation and investigation.

Granting the request, the magistrate extended their physical remand in police custody.

The magistrate also remanded other suspects — Reenum, Shirina and Waqas — in judicial custody till the next date.

In the meanwhile, the magistrate directed the IO to submit an investigation report on the next date.

According to complainant Aslam, his wife gave birth to a son at the private health facility on April 17. A woman clad in burqa and another in doctor’s uniform visited their room at 4am when his wife and mother-in-law were asleep.

They informed them that the child was suffering from fever and needed to be shifted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). But when the family visited the special ward, they came to know that their baby was missing, he added.

A case was registered under Section 364-A (kidnapping) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) on the complaint of newborn’s father Aslam.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2022