Three arrested for stealing babies

Some nurses, hospital staff members and employees of diagnostic centres of Chattogram are involved in stealing babies, said police.

They steal babies from low-income people and later sell them to childless couples, law enforcers added.

Police came up with the information yesterday after arresting three members of a baby-stealing gang and rescued a seven-month-old baby boy -- stolen from his mother on May 27. Law enforcers rescued the baby from a couple in port city’s Dampara area.

The arrestees are: Md Afsar alias Jafar Sadek (38), Parvin Akhter (30) and Sujit Kumar Nath (45). Afsar is the ringleader of the gang, claimed police.

According to police sources, a two-month-old baby was stolen from a beggar on May 28 in the city’s Riazuddin Bazar. Later, the mother filed a case with Kotwali Police Station, accusing unnamed people in this regard.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammed Mohsin of Kotwali Police Station said Afsar works at Basic Diagnostic Center lab in Chattogram Medical College Hospital area. Through work, he developed good relations with medical college hospital’s staff and nurses.

“Afsar collected information on childless couples who came to the hospital for treatment, and offered them babies in exchange of money,” said the OC.

Inspector (investigation) Kamruzzaman of Kotwali Police Station told The Daily Star, “The gang members used to target babies of low-income parents and applied several tactics to steal them.”

According to the case filed by Shefaly Begum, a youth lured her saying that he would buy new clothes for her and her child on May 26 when she was begging in Kazir Dewri area. The youth came the following day and took the child and the mother to Riazuddin Bazar to buy clothes.

At the market, the youth took her to an eatery and they had food together. After eating, Shefaly fell sick and started vomiting. The youth asked her to wash her hands and face at a nearby hotel. Shefaly went inside the hotel to wash up, leaving her baby with the youth. After she returned, she found her son missing along with the youth.

OC Mohsin said they collected CCTV footage from the hotel and identified the youth who took the child. Police later

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