Missing or nonexistent?: Police arrest man for staging kidnapping of ‘phantom’ newborn

Father claims infant was abducted, hospital staff insists his wife has not given birth recently.

PESHAWAR:

In a rather baffling case, a man was arrested after he claimed his newborn went missing from the special care unit of Lady Reading Hospital’s Gynaecology Ward on Saturday. Police and hospital staff, however, believe the person in custody staged the entire incident and the baby doesn’t even exist.

Khanwada, a native of Mohmand Agency, said his pregnant wife had been admitted on June 23 and delivered a baby boy on July 16. He added that due to certain complications, the mother was placed in the special care unit from where the baby was allegedly abducted.

He accused the hospital administration of deleting the CCTV footage to ensure there was no record of the kidnapping.

On the other hand, an official of Khan Raziq police told The Express Tribune that Khanwada was arrested as they believed he had staged the entire episode. “The LRH administration claims the man has no record indicating his wife was admitted to the hospital.”

He added the police were told that doctors examined the wife and found no evidence suggesting she had given birth to a child recently.

“The LRH administration has said Khanwada staged the entire episode. However, the man insists his three or four-day-old son has been kidnapped and we will only be able to reach a conclusion after investigating the matter,” said the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2014.