Newborn Baby Falsely Declared Dead By Midwife Sold To Childless Couple, Suspects Arrested

A newborn baby, who was falsely declared dead by a midwife, was sold to a childless couple in Pakistan.

The Anti-Violent Crime Cell wing of the Sindh police carried out a raid and recovered the baby after 58 days, ARY NEWS reported Wednesday. The midwife reportedly abducted the baby and sold it for $2,000.

The police arrested two female suspects – a mother and a daughter – in connection with the case. After the arrests and recovery of the child, the police said the midwife who facilitated the birth informed the parents the baby was a stillborn.

“When parents wanted to see the body of the baby, she gave excuses, resulting in suspicion among parents who then approached police for a probe,” authorities said, ARY News reported.

After the questioning, the midwife confessed to her crime.

“The midwife sold out the baby to a childless couple in Rs 300,000 [$2,000],” authorities said, adding that those arrested were booked under a case registered on a complaint from a citizen named Waqas at Gulshan-e-Iqbal police station, Pakistan Observer reported.

The details about the childless couple to whom the baby was sold has not been revealed. It remains unclear if there would be any investigation or charges against the couple who bought the newborn baby.

In a similar incident in March, a 10-day-old baby girl was kidnapped from her house in Karachi while her mother was sleeping. When the woman woke up, she found her newborn baby was missing and the gate of the house was opened. Other members of the family were informed and a search was launched. However, the newborn baby was not found, ARY News reported. A video was later released showing two burqa-clad women coming out from her house. One of the women was seen carrying the infant in her hand. The police then launched an investigation into the incident.

In the neighboring country of India, a couple was arrested Monday after they attempted to sell their 5-month-old baby for nearly $1,300. The couple had six children and was unable to financially support the family especially after the COVID-19 lockdown imposed in the country. A woman, who was helping the couple sell the baby, was arrested. The woman, identified as Mansi Jadhav, had worked for an adoption agency till 2018.