Rohingya immigrant detained inside Karimganj Jail gives birth to a daughter; Mother and child both in healthy condition, says Superintendent

Rashida Begum and her husband Muhammad Alam along with their entire family were detained on December 28, 2020, on the allegation of illegally entering India via Tripura through the Indo-Bangladesh border. They are Rohingya Muslims belonging from the Cox Bazaar area in Bangladesh and were arrested by the Churaibari police after which they were detained in the Karimganj District Jail. Yesterday, Rashida Begum gave birth to a healthy child in the Karimganj Civil Hospital. As of now, both the child and the mother are in healthy condition and the child weighed around 3.5 kg at the time of birth according to the hospital authority.

Rashida Begum, aged 34, has 3 children with her husband, one daughter and two sons. The newborn, who happens to be their fourth child, is a girl child. According to the Superintendent of the Karimganj District Jail, Sanjib Kumar Chetia, when Rashida and her family were arrested last December under the allegation of being illegal immigrants, she was already pregnant back then.

“As the mother was already pregnant when they were brought here, we took extra care of the mother and all the necessary medical help was provided including pre-natal medication. Yesterday, as her health began to deteriorate, we shifted her to the Karimganj Civil Hospital where she gave birth to a girl child. Over the years, many such detained illegal immigrants gave birth to children in jail, but this is the first instance of Cesarean delivery. So when her health started deteriorating, she was admitted to the Karimganj Civil Hospital 3 days back for medical care, after which she gave birth to a child”, said Sanjib Kumar Chetia.

The Superintendent also mentioned that as of now, there are 14 Rohingya immigrants detained in the Karimganj District Jail. All total, there are 42 illegal immigrants from all over the world detained inside the District Jail.