NAROWAL: Sialkot district police have started investigations into the shocking recovery of the bodies of five newborns, all of them girls, from heaps of garbage in different areas during the last 15 days, causing serious concern among locals.

According to District Emergency Officer Rescue 1122 Naveed Iqbal, on Feb 15, 2025, the emergency service received a call about a newborn lying in the garbage near Adda Stop, Duska.

Responding to the call, a rescue team rushed to the scene and found the newborn, a girl, had already died. The matter was reported to local police, he said.

Similarly, he said, the bodies of four other newborns, all of them girls, were found in Kharta Sayedan, Pasrur Road, Dalwali and Bhaer Pulley.

He said most of these bodies were mutilated by dogs and cats.

Incidents occurred in different areas in a fortnight

Mr Iqbal said the information regarding the discovery of these bodies was provided to the police concerned by the Rescue 1122 staff.

Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Faisal Shahzad told Dawn that two of the bodies were found in the limits of Saddar police station and three in the Cantonment police station precincts. He said the police registered murder FIRs against the unidentified persons who threw the newborns in the garbage.

The DPO said City Circle Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Tariq Mehmood and Saddar Circle DSP Noman have been assigned the task to probe the matter and nab the culprits.

He said the police investigation teams have started working on these cases, hoping the culprits would soon be traced through human intelligence and modern gadgets like CCTV camera footage.

Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zulqarnain Langarial expressed concern over these incidents and said the health chief executive officer had been directed to check private hospitals and maternity homes to find a clue to the parents of the deceased newborns.

He said that preventing such incidents would not be possible without the cooperation of civil society.

Locals have demanded that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz take notice of these incidents.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2025