Baby recovered in Bogura eight days after twin newborn went missing from Naogaon clinic; couple in police custody

Police have recovered a baby from Bogura, eight days after one of a pair of twin newborns went missing following a caesarean operation at a private clinic in Naogaon. A couple has been taken into custody over the incident.

The baby was recovered on Thursday night from Tarta village in Adamdighi upazila of Bogura.

Superintendent of Police Mohammad Tarikul Islam said the baby was recovered in a raid on Tarta village in Adamdighi, acting on a tip-off. A woman named Molina, 40, and her husband have been taken into police custody and are being questioned over the incident.

The police superintendent also said the woman first claimed to be the baby's mother but later admitted that she had collected the baby.

A DNA test will be carried out to confirm whether the recovered baby is the newborn who went missing from Balaka Clinic in Naogaon. Until the real parents are identified, the baby will remain in police custody. How the baby was taken to that village and whether anyone else is involved are being investigated, the SP said.

The incident began on 5 November, when a woman named Santona Akter underwent a caesarean operation at Balaka Clinic in Naogaon town. Her husband, Shanto Islam, said in a written complaint to the police station that two separate ultrasound reports done before the operation had mentioned twins in his wife's womb.

But after the operation, the clinic authorities handed them one baby girl. When they asked about the other newborn, the clinic authorities gave no satisfactory answer, he alleged. He also alleged that they were offered money to hush up the matter.

Santona Akter has also alleged that after the operation her wound was left unstitched for a long time and she was intimidated and forced to record a video.

However, at a press conference on 7 November, the Balaka Clinic authorities, along with leaders of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) and the clinic owners' association, denied the allegation of a missing newborn. They claimed there was only one baby in the mother's womb, and that the twin information had appeared because of an error in the earlier ultrasound report.