Woman arrested for snatching baby from mother

Accused allegedly demanded Rs0.2m ransom for safe return of the infant

KOTRI:

A woman has been arrested for snatching a four-month-old baby boy from a mother hailing from Hyderabad, who was visiting Sindh University Society for medical treatment. The perpetrator demanded a ransom of Rs200,000 for the safe return of the infant.

As per reports, Hasina, wife of Abdul Qayyum and a resident of Latifabad, had taken her baby, Fayyaz, to the Sindh University Society for medical care, where a woman named Shahida wife of Salim Raza, also a member of her own community and wife of Salim Raza, forcibly took the child from her and expelled her from the premises, demanding a ransom of Rs200,000.

In response, Hasina filed a petition under Section 491 in the court of Kotri’s first additional sessions judge with the help of Advocate Bashir Ahmed, the chairman of the Human Rights Peace and Protection Foundation.

Following court directives, Muhammad Salim Panhwar, Additional SHO of Jamshoro police station, arrested the perpetrator and presented the infant in the court. The court, after due consideration, returned the child to his mother.

During the court proceedings, the accused claimed that Hasina had sold the child to her for Rs100,000, and she had subsequently handed the child over to a childless woman. Police have launched further investigation into the matter and have detained the accused for questioning.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2024.