Woman throws newborn off hospital roof, kills herself
Following a “quarrel” with her expatriate husband over medical bill, a woman killed her newborn by throwing him from the roof of a five-storey hospital building and then committed suicide by jumping off it.
The incident took place around 8:30am yesterday at Labaid Diagnostic Centre and Specialised Hospital in Brahmanbaria.
On Tuesday morning, Shima Akter, 25, was admitted to the adjacent Life Care Shishu and General Hospital with labour pain. Her mother, Rehana Begum, accompanied her.
She gave birth to a boy by caesarean section the same night and was due to be released from the hospital yesterday morning, said doctors.
Unbeknownst to all, she somehow managed to get out of the hospital on Old Jail Road and then went to the adjacent Labaid building, said Selim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Brahmanbaria Sadar Model Police Station.
He said police were yet to find out the reason behind her actions but according to hospital staffers, other patients and eye witnesses, Shima killed her son and committed suicide over a quarrel with her expatriate husband the night before.
Her husband, Monir Mia, of Basudeb union in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila, is in Lebanon now. The couple got married last year.
This correspondent also spoke to one Shimul Mia, who witnessed the incident.
Shimul Mia, an employee of nearby Shandhani Child Care Hospital, said he was standing on the street when the incident took place.
“Our hospital is just opposite Labaid. While standing, I saw something fell from the roof of that building. Many passers-by started screaming, saying it was a child. Some also shouted that a woman threw the child,” he said.
“I instantly looked up and saw the woman standing near the edge. She was about to jump. All were shouting and telling her not to do so. Suddenly, she jumped,” he added.
While visiting Life Care hospital, this correspondent saw Shima's mother, Rehana Begum, sitting on the cabin's bed. She was wailing and was beyond any consolation. She kept on saying why her daughter would act in such a way.
“I went downstairs to get some food. When I came back, I saw my daughter and grandchild were not there. I informed the staff right away.”
Farida Khatun, relative of a patient staying beside Shima's cabin, said, “I heard her fight with her husband over the phone for a long time last night.”
“She was informing her husband about the bill and how it will be more as she rented a cabin during her stay at the hospital. Then there was a lot of screaming from the other side.”
“At one point, I heard her say that she won't feed the child and in the morning, the husband will find out the consequences of his behaviour,” she added.
Contacted, Delwar Hossain Khan, managing director of Life Care Shishu and General Hospital, said, “In the morning, a ward master informed me that a patient [Shima], who was about to be released, was not in her cabin. The staffers started looking for her. After a while, we found out about the incident.”
“We don't know why this happened. We heard that she had a fight with her husband over the phone regarding billing.” When asked, he said her total bill was Tk 16,000.
He said no one from the husband's side visited the hospital yet.
This correspondent also spoke with a director of Labaid Diagnostic Centre and Specialised Hospital.
Wishing anonymity, he said many people come to the hospital on a daily basis and it is hard for them to keep track of that. “She must have taken the stairs and covered the baby with a scarf to go unnoticed,” the director added.
Sub-inspector Shafiqul Islam Babu, also the investigation officer, said they were looking into the matter. Post mortem on the bodies was carried out yesterday, he added.
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