Child theft and kidnapping are not new, but the new monetised trade in newborns, taking place for a variety of social and economic reasons, saw an alarming spike in the closing months of 2014.
Despite the best efforts of law enforcement agencies to stem the rise of the infant theft and resale business, it appears to be spreading.
The newborn theft business had been reported on as early as 2009, but the numbers have seen a sharp rise in recent times.
There were just four reports of infant thefts, all from Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), in the five years covering 2009 to 2013. But towards the end of 2014, incidents of infant theft sky-rocketed to 18 reported cases in just four months – eleven in the capital and the rest outside it.
Although first reported in the capital, the business of stealing infants, especially newborns, has spread across the country.
One possible reason for the crime is the staffing practices at neo-natal wards. There is a preponderance of part-time nurses and part-time nurse-assistants, who are underpaid, have little hope of a permanent job and little loyalty either to the employer or to the profession.
Part-timers are therefore prone to money-making schemes, investigators told the Dhaka Tribune. For as little as Tk3,000-4,000, part-time nurse-assistants switch girl children for boy children to satisfy clients who would rather raise someone else’s male child than a female one of their own.
One part-time nurse-assistant, Nilufar Yasmin, who has worked at DMCH for twenty-two years said: “The blame always falls on the least powerful among us, part-timers, full-time nurses...but do you think any of this would be possible without the knowledge of the doctors?”
DMCH Director Brigadier General Mostafizur Rahman said: “We have installed closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) and posted guards in front of every ward after this wave of thefts began. We believe outsiders and part-time staff are responsible for it, and we have done our best to enforce entry barriers and the use of ID cards to control the situation.”
Investigators said the demand for newborns comes either from childless couples in search of a child to “adopt” or families without boy children who want to satisfy social preferences so badly that they are willing either to switch their own child for another’s or are willing to buy a stolen baby boy.
Buyers prefer newborns so that it is difficult for outsiders to claim the infant isn’t their own child.
The common practice is for the wife to “go away” for some time – to “give birth” at her “parents’ house” or a “hospital” – and then to reappear with a newborn in tow.
This preference for boy children in the infant theft business is reflected in the price, with infant boys fetching up to Tk1 lakh, more than double the average for infant girls who are sometimes sold for just Tk30,000.
Gangs have their own jargon to disguise the transactions that they negotiate. They call boys, “jamai” [groom], and girls “bou” [bride], when discussing the infants they are hoping to steal, and sell.
Baby theft
The most recent child theft took place last Monday at Ward number 22 at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH).
Rubina Begum gave birth to a girl around 12:30pm, and lost consciousness while delivering her first-born.
The baby girl was given to her grandmother. The baby’s father, Torikul Islam, after seeing his newborn daughter’s face, went to buy medicine for his recovering wife.
The grandmother remained busy with the care of the infant.
At 1pm, a friendly woman, unknown to the family, came to the ward and became affectionate with the infant. Seeing her ease with the child, the grandmother left the baby briefly in the woman’s care and went out to fetch some dry swaddling clothes.
When she returned, there was no trace of the woman or her grand-daughter. Word of the theft spread rapidly and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 5) led the investigation. Within two days, the baby had been returned to its mother.
Three people, including the woman from the ward, had been arrested. Two of the arrestees turned out to be hospital part-time staff.
Similar cases have been reported in Rangpur, Barisal, Sylhet and Comilla.
In the capital, the majority of cases of newborn theft have been reported from four hospitals: DMCH, Azimpur Maternity Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (SSMCH) and Matuail Maternity Hospital.
Police sources said one reason these gangs continue to strike repeatedly was because they were granted bail relatively quickly by the courts due to loopholes in the law.
For example, one of the top infant theft gang leaders, Dipali, believed to have been involved in more than 30 child thefts from DMCH, SSMCH and other hospitals, was bailed by the High Court just two weeks after her arrest.
Her associates, Nilufa Begum, 35, Munni Akther, 28, and Nasima Begum, 32, all arrested by Nawabpur police at the same time as Dipali, were also bailed by the High Court.
In a separate incident, RAB officials arrested four women, Kohinur Begum, 35, Jhorna Begum, 30, Renu Akther, 28, and Nurjahan Begum, 38, for their involvement in child theft from the DMCH. They were all part-time nurse-assistants.
In interrogation, police learned that this was not their first arrest for stealing infants. They had been arrested – and bailed – before.
Lt Col Khandaker Golam Sarwar, commanding officer of RAB 3, said his force was investigating the infant theft situation and the trade in newborns.
