A Dhaka court has sentenced two human traffickers to life term imprisonment in a case filed on charges of stealing two newborns and trafficking them.
Judge Joysree Samaddar of Dhaka Women and Children Repressions Prevention Tribunal 3 handed down the verdict in presence of the two convicts -Jorna Begum of Sirajganj and Manik of Narayanganj - on Tuesday.
The court also fined them Tk50,000 each. It also acquitted two others accused - Abdul Matin and Shila Begum.
Police filed the case with Khilgaon police station on January 12, 2006 against the accused on charges of stealing newborn babies and trafficking them.
According to the case, police arrested Jorna Begum along with a 8 to 10-day-old newborn boy from Khilgaon area in Dhaka on January 12, 2006. Police also rescued a newborn girl from Rampura.
During interrogation, Jorna told police that she stole the newborn boy from Manik Miah of Fatullah in Narayanganj, while the baby girl was stolen from security guard Abdul Matin of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Later, police arrested Manik Mia.
Police submitted a charge sheet accusing four people on March 26 of 2006.
Police told the court in a report that Jorna, who had lived in the Middle East for quite some time, used to steal newborns and then trafficked them to different countries in the Middle East.