Newborn goes missing from Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital

• Father alleges hospital admin involved in disappearance.
• Police claim baby's mother refused to register complaint.
• Video shows a woman carrying baby out of hospital.

PESHAWAR: A newborn baby has reportedly gone missing from Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar, with the family and police giving differing accounts of the incident.

Speaking to Geo News, Hasmat Ali, a resident of the Shabqadar area of Charsadda, said his child was born at LRH the previous day.

He alleged that the hospital administration asked female relatives to leave the gynaecology room. When the women returned to the room, there was no newborn there, he said.

Hashmat said a daily diary report regarding the alleged disappearance of the baby was registered at the hospital's police post, but police officials were not registering a first information report (FIR).

He further said that a nurse in the gynaecology ward instead accused the family of making the baby disappear. “Who could make their own child disappear?” he asked, demanding the recovery of the allegedly missing newborn.

An LRH spokesperson said an inquiry into the matter was under way and that police were looking into the incident. The spokesperson expressed hope that those involved would be traced soon.

According to police, the baby's mother handed the child over to a woman wearing a white burqa with her consent. The woman remained in the gynaecology ward for around three hours, police said.

Police added that the baby's maternal aunt was also present at the time of the incident.

The baby's mother was asked to register a report but refused, police said, adding that she maintained that it was a personal family matter.

Police said their investigation into the newborn's case was continuing.

Meanwhile, video footage obtained by Geo News shows a woman carrying the baby away from Lady Reading Hospital.