KARACHI: A newborn who was kidnapped by two women including one wearing doctor’s uniform from a medical centre in the Gulberg area on April 17 died and was secretly buried, it emerged on Thursday.

Anti-Violent Crime Cell SSP Zubair Nazeer Shaikh told Dawn that initially police had detained three women for interrogation. It transpired during preliminary probe that a woman, identified as Humera, was involved in the kidnapping. The senior officer said that Humera had two daughters from her husband but she wanted a male child, therefore, she along with other suspects, kidnapped the baby. But when they brought the baby home, the question of how she would take care of the baby disturbed here.

The officer said that Humera took the baby to the Gulberg police station to surrender him but in the meantime, the media flashed the kidnap report forcing the woman to hand over the bag carrying the baby to a passerby, Bilal, said to be a drug addict.

The SSP said that when Bilal was arrested, he revealed that the woman came by a rickshaw and gave him the bag and Rs1,000. He said he took the bag assuming that it might have contained some food. Bilal said he found the dead baby in the bag so he took the body to a graveyard in Brohi Goth and buried it.

The SSP said Bilal recognised the woman, who was in police custody. He said six suspects had been arrested. Among them, two were employees of the hospital, he added.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2022