‘Traditional negligence’: Prisoner gives birth without attendants in Mansehra jail

Imprisoned lawyer passes away in Haripur jail due to ill health

MANSEHRA/HARIPUR:

An inmate gave birth to a boy without the presence of any medical attendant on Tuesday as jail authorities failed to shift her to the hospital on time.

According to a source at the prison who requested anonymity, Sanjeeda Bibi, wife of Noor Muhammad, a resident of Oghi, was arrested on charges of kidnapping a girl. She was sent to Mansehra District Jail on judicial remand two months ago when she was seven-months pregnant.

Although the health record of each inmate is maintained at the time of her incarceration, “traditional negligence was committed by jail administration” according to the insider. “Sanjeeda Bibi was not shifted to any government hospital in time.”

She complained of severe labour pains Monday night and asked the jail administration to take her to a hospital, but jail officials did not oblige. She begot a baby boy at 4pm on Tuesday after suffering tremendous and prolonged pain.

Passing the buck

There was no senior official available for comments. A junior officer, also requesting anonymity, confirmed a baby boy was born in the female barracks of Mansehra District Jail.

He said when the woman complained of contractions, jail authorities contacted the police to provide security to the inmate till the hospital, however, the latter failed to escort the pregnant woman. “Sanjeeda Bibi was forced to deliver the baby within jail premises without any doctor or trained birth attendant,” he said.

Advocate Shafqat Khan condemned the attitude of jail authorities, adding under the jail manual, the authorities were bound to record medical conditions of inmates. He said jail officials would have definitely noted her pregnancy in their medical register.

“Despite knowing about her physical condition, jail authorities were negligent and could have cost the life of the mother or the child or both,” he said. Shafqat added non-governmental organisations used to regularly visit jails to provide free medication and health care facilities, but authorities barred them in the name of security and failed to do the job themselves.



The jail hospital has no female doctor or nurse. Only one male doctor and a dispenser run the ill-equipped jail hospital.

Imprisoned lawyer passes

An inmate serving life in prison at Haripur jail died at District Headquarters Teaching Hospital Haripur on Wednesday.

According to jail and hospital sources, the inmate, Advocate Sardar Moazzam, a native of Talokar village in Haripur, had contracted multiple health problems like a brain tumor, cardiac problems, diabetes and hypertension during his imprisonment. He even underwent a brain surgery in Lahore in 2010. He had been shifted to DHQ Hospital Haripur five days ago when his condition deteriorated.

The inmate had been sentenced to death by Abbottabad sessions judge in 2003 on charges of murdering a doctor of Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad. However, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2015 and he was to be released in 2017.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2016.