[Harm] welcome: Newborn dumped at hospital

CCTV footage shows the woman leaving the baby.

FAISALABAD:

A newborn was abandoned at the district headquarters hospital on Friday. A veiled woman leaving the boy in a small crib can be seen in the CCTV camera installed in front of the orthopedic ward.  

A complaint was filed with the police by the hospital administration.

Additional Medical Superintendent Habib Buttar told The Express Tribune that the baby was noticed by one of the nurses. She said she had seen the baby crying and asked around who it belonged to.

When she realised that it had apparently been abandoned, she informed the medical superintendent.

The MS said the baby was then taken to the nursery and examined. He said it seemed to be two to three days old. He said the baby was in good health and was adequately dressed.

Buttar said the woman was later seen in the CCTV camera footage. He said she seemed to be in her 30s, was wearing an abaya and her face was veiled.

He said, “She is seen placing the crib close to the wall. She sits next to it for less than a minute as if looking for an opportunity to leave without being noticed. She leaves in a hurry.”

He said there was a man standing beside her, who too, left when she did.

However, it had yet to be confirmed if he was with her or not.

He said that the hospital administration had informed Civil Lines police. The CCTV footage would be provided to the police, he said.

He said the hospital would wait for a few days to see if somebody turned up claiming the baby. If not, he said, the baby would be put up for adoption.

Station House Officer Arif Ali Wattoo said investigations had begun.

This is a second such incident in the week after Tuesday, when a newborn girl, abandoned in a garbage heap by unidentified people in Chak Jhumra near Faisalabad, was burnt when the dump was set on fire by sanitary workers.

The infant was discovered wrapped in a polythene bag and taken to the Allied Hospital. It had 80 per cent burns and died 24 hours later.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2013.