Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, concerned over the issue of newborn babies being found dead in garbage dumps, has ordered his subordinates to take action against those involved in the crime and warned officials of action in case of failure to do their job.
Officials said on Wednesday that reviewing a law and order progress report and crime details recently, the inspector general of police was shocked to note that the discovery of many dead bodies of newborn babies had been reported and that instead of registering FIRs against the culprits involved, the police stations were just conducting inquiries under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and moving the bodies to welfare organisations for burial.
They added that IGP Memon ordered Karachi’s additional IG, the DIGs of East, West, South ranges, the DIGs of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad ranges and all district SSPs in Sindh to follow the law and take strict action against those involved behind the crime.
A letter moved by the IGP office in this regard reads, “It has been observed that unidentified dead bodies of newborn babies are being secretly disposed of by anonymous culprits mostly at street garbage sites or unattended routes and areas of districts of Sindh. The act itself is inhumane and falls under the relevant penal provision of law (Section 328 and 329) defined in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).”
Section 328 of the PPC says: “Exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years by parents or persons of whoever, being the father or mother of child under the age of twelve years, or having the care of such child, shall expose or leave such child in any place with the intention of wholly abandoning such child, shall be punished with the imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.”
According to Section 329 of the PPC, “Concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body whoever, by secretly burying or otherwise disposing of the dead body of a child whether such child dies before or after or during its birth, intentionally conceals or endeavours to conceal the birth shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” The letter further reads that reportedly, often unclaimed dead bodies of newborn babies are handed over to welfare organisations for their burial without carrying out inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC and the registration of an FIR. Such practice is illegal and against the mandatory norms and procedural conduct of police.
In this context, the officials said, directives said that all range DIGs and SSPs of districts in Sindh should ensure that on the discovery of the dead body of a newborn baby, an inquest under Section 174 of the CrPC will be carried out, followed by a medical examination by a medico-legal officer and registration of an FIR at the police station to trace the culprits involved.
It will also be ensured that when an unclaimed dead body of a newborn baby is handed over to a welfare organization such as Edhi and Chippa for burial, the required legal formalities will be adhered to.
“Furthermore, all the welfare organisations working within your respective districts should be sensitized to notify the area police station, on receipt of information of an unclaimed dead body of a newborn baby and prior to its collection from the spot. This would enable the area police to collect and secure relevant material and evidence from the scene and process the case, as per law.”