Investigators yesterday said they suspected that former nurse Salma Akhter arrested in connection with selling a newborn baby on Friday had formed a group that is involved in such acts in the capital’s low-grade hospitals.

Major Kamran Kabir Uddin, deputy director of RAB 3, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have found some documents in her flat which indicate that she has people working for her in hospitals that are of low quality. We are now checking the documents.”

On Friday, RAB arrested Salma, 33, her husband Saiful Islam, 34, Anwara Begum, 46, and Babu, 36, in a house in Banani during an exchange of Tk1 lakh for trading a newborn baby.

A RAB 3 team led by Major Kamran raided the house after a tip-off.

RAB sources said Salma would procure newborn babies from poor families, saying she was infertile, and would later sell the babies to others.

As for the baby that was being sold on Friday, Salma told its mother Bina Akhter on Thursday that she would take the boy to Bikrampur in Munshiganj but refused to give any contact number or address.

She just told Bina that she would contact her within a day.

But on Friday, she finalised a deal to sell the baby boy.

Bina told the Dhaka Tribune she was totally unaware that her child was being sold.

Major Kamran said Salma generally rents a flat for three to four months and move out after selling a baby.

“Salma rented the flat in Banani in December and told the flat owner early this month that she would leave at the end of the month.”

RAB handed over the two-day-old baby to Bina late on Friday and the baby was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday.

The child was admitted to the intensive care unit and was undergoing treatment under RAB protection in the hospital.

dhakatribune