An 11-day-old infant has been sent to jail alongside her mother in Khulna after a court denied bail in a human trafficking case involving the abduction of a newborn boy.

Shahazadi Begum, a mother of four daughters, was produced before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on Sunday (Sept 21) following her arrest in connection with the abduction. 

With no defence lawyer present and no bail application submitted, the court ordered her immediate imprisonment. 

The infant accompanied her mother to Khulna District Jail in a prison van later that afternoon.

According to police investigations, Shahazadi, a resident of Bagerhat’s Rampal area, had recently given birth to another daughter by caesarean section on September 11. 

Her husband, Sirajul Islam, reportedly left the hospital upon hearing the baby was a girl, and subsequently severed all contact. Family members said he had previously warned of divorce if she failed to give birth to a son.

On September 15, under mounting emotional and familial pressure, Shahazadi allegedly abducted a male infant born the same day at the hospital. Security footage and swift police response led to the baby’s recovery within hours and the arrest of Shahazadi’s mother, Nargis Begum. The child’s father, Mirza Sumon, later filed a case under the Anti-Human Trafficking Act, naming both Shahazadi and her mother as accused.

Nargis Begum was sent to jail earlier. Shahazadi was arrested and brought to court on Sunday, where the absence of legal representation resulted in the court issuing a standard custody order. Court officials confirmed that no one raised the issue of the newborn separately.

Sub-Inspector Bodhan Chandra Biswas of the court’s prosecution unit said the court was not presented with any special plea regarding the infant. As a result, both mother and daughter remain in custody.

SMS/