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Balrampur dist shocker: Two doctors held for selling newborn child to corporator
Hospital authorities allegedly misled couple by saying that it was a still born; child recovered and reunited with the mother after nearly a month
Two medical practitioners of a private hospital in Balarampur were arrested on Tuesday over allegations of selling a Hindu couple’s newborn child to the family of a Muslim corporator from Siddarthnagar . They told the parents that the child was still born, said senior police officials on Wednesday.
The newborn was recovered nearly a month later, on Monday, of being sold to the corporator’s family and reunited with the real mother, after she lodged an FIR with Panchpedwa police station of Balarampur, on Sunday (November 26). The FIR followed the realisation that the doctors’ claims were false, and after she came to know about the sale of the child through various sources.
Balarampur’s Tulsipur circle officer (CO), Raghvendra Singh, said the FIR was initially lodged against the two accused Dr Akram Jamal, the operator of Mission Hospital, in Judikuiya locality, under the Panchpedwa police station limits, and his colleague, Dr Hafiz-ur-Rehman of Badani, Siddarthnagar, under section 311 of the IPC (cheating through transportation of life (theft of a child)). He said the section attracts imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
The CO said that the police will add the corporator’s name as the co-accused and further IPC sections and medical negligence will be added in the FIR during investigation.
Sharing details, inspector of Panchpedwa police station, Awadhesh Raj Singh, said that the complainant was identified as Pushpa Devi, wife of Jai Jai Ram, resident of Jhauwa village, near Gaura crossing in Balarampur.
“The woman said Dr Hafiz-ur-Rehman performed the Caesarean Section on her on October 29. After the operation, she remained admitted in the hospital for around a week during which she was informed that she gave birth to a still born child. But later she came to know that the two doctors had sold her child,” he stated while narrating the sequence of events.
The inspector said the police raided a house in Badani, Siddarthnagar, of resident Nisar Ahmad who is a corporator of Badani Nagar Panchayat Ward number 2 and recovered the child from his house on the revelation made by the accused doctors.
He said that however, the corporator had escaped before the arrival of the police and is said to have fled to Nepal. He said efforts are on to arrest him.
Talking over the phone, the child’s father, Jai Jai Ram, expressed happiness at getting their child back and demanded stern action against the culprits.
The CO further said that so far, investigations revealed that Dr Hafiz-ur-Rehman was the key operator in the case and was known to the corporator as he lives near the latter’s house in Badani, Siddarthnagar. He said the police are further verifying whether the two accused had sold any other child in the past.
Besides, the Balarampur chief medical officer has been asked to send a report on the entire incident and further action of sealing the hospital would also be done if its registration was not found proper.
