A mobile court in Gazipur has ordered a hospital to suspend operations after a couple in Sreepur upazila was forced to sell their newborn to settle their bills following a caesarean section.
The incident took place at New Asia Diagnostic Centre in the Sreepur Chowrasta area. After public agitation, the local administration penalized the hospital management and ordered the shutdown on Friday through its mobile court.
The couple, Priya and Rasel, live in a rented house on Sreepur-Kapasia road. They are parents to two other daughters, a four-year-old and a five-year-old. Priya is a housewife and Rasel works as a day labourer.
Rasel said he admitted his wife, Priya, to New Asia Diagnostic Centre at 11am last Sunday due to labour pain.
After examining his wife, the hospital's director, Jahangir, advised a caesarean section on the same day, cautioning about the potential complications that could endanger both the mother and child if the operation was delayed.
Rasel informed the hospital director that he lacked funds for the procedure, to which the director proposed the idea of selling their newborn – promising Tk50,000 for a boy and Tk30,000 for a girl – after covering the cost of the c-section.
Later that evening, at 7pm, Priya gave birth to a girl.
On Monday, the hospital director sold the couple's newborn to an unknown individual.
When Priya and Rasel asked about the individual, Jahangir kept their identity confidential.
He later gave the couple Tk14,000, claiming to have sold their newborn for Tk30,000, from which Tk16,000 was deducted for the hospital bills.
News about the sale of the newborn became public on Wednesday and caused a stir in the locality.
When local journalists visited the hospital for information, they tried to deny the matter and evade questions.
Jahangir said that the operation was carried out with the couple's consent and that they themselves sold their newborn to pay the hospital bills.
Sreepur Assistant Commissioner (Land) Al Mamun said he conducted a mobile court at the New Asia Diagnostic Centre on Friday upon learning about the incident and fined the hospital Tk5,000.
The mobile court ordered the suspension of all activities at the hospital due to its malpractice, he added.
Sreepur police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdul Bari said they were informed about the incident on Wednesday evening and immediately started investigating the matter.
Although no case has been filed yet in this regard, police are investigating the matter seriously and have already gathered some information, said the OC.
Appropriate action will be taken once a case is filed, he added.
