Take steps to stop such incidents

Runa Begum and Kousar Hossain Babu, parents of stolen newborn twin who was later rescued, each holding a twin in their arms speak at a programme organised in the conference hall of Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday. Photo: Banglar Chokh

Father of the stolen twin baby yesterday urged the Dhaka Medical College Hospital authorities to take necessary steps to prevent incidents of newborn theft from the hospital.

"I want the director to take initiatives so that no mother loses her baby from the hospital,” said Kousar Hossain Babu at a programme in the hospital's conference hall.

One of Babu's twins was stolen from DMCH on August 20 and rescued a week later in Gazipur by members of Rapid Action Battalion. The baby has been named Ekhlas Hossain, and his 10-minute older brother Yasin Hossain.

The hospital authorities handed over Tk 15,000 and some toys to the parents for the babies.

At the programme, mother of the twins, Runa Begum, said, “I felt like a dead woman when my son was stolen. I got my son back with help from journalists, lawmen, and others.”      

“We are very poor, but we will try our best to make one of our sons a journalist and the other a Rab official,” she said, and sought help from the government to fulfil their dream.

The couple thanked the media for publishing stories on the theft, and Rab and the hospital authorities for their roles in the rescue of their son.

DMCH Director Brig Gen Mustafizur Rahman said they are going to set up six more CCTV cameras in the ward where babies are kept so that no point remains out of focus of the cameras.

He further said they have introduced identification stickers for a newborn baby and its mother bearing the same registration and serial number.

“The guards will only allow valid guardians bearing the stickers to leave the hospital with babies,” he added. 

The hospital also let go all ayahs who are not hospital staff, he said. 

Runa gave birth to twin sons around 5:00am on August 20. A woman posing as an attendant of an imaginary patient offered her services to Runa as the new mother was having difficulty nursing the twins.

A CCTV clip shows the woman -- holding one of the babies in her arms -- along with the baby's grandmother at the emergency around noon on August 20.

Rab arrested two women -- Rasheda Khanom alias Parvin, and Belly Akter alias Rahima -- in this connection.

Anyone wishing to help the couple can contribute to MD Kousar Hossain Babu, a/c no. 621120041659, Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd, Mothbaria, Pirojpur.