Two babies have been stolen from Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital within 20 days, raising serious questions about security at the facility after a second child disappeared before investigators could solve the first case.
One baby was taken from the children's ward on Sept 19, while a newborn disappeared from the hospital's Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) on Oct 9.
Neither child has been found, and no arrests have been made.
Both incidents occurred in hospital wards where staff were present and access was supposed to be restricted or monitored.
Police have pointed to shortcomings in the hospital's internal security arrangements, including faulty CCTV cameras. Hospital authorities, meanwhile, say repeated requests for additional police protection have gone unanswered.
The disappearances have left two families devastated and spread fear among other parents seeking treatment for their children.
One Baby Left Behind, Another Taken
On the morning of Sept 19, an unidentified woman walked out of the children's ward with seven-month-old Rakib, leaving a three-month-old baby behind.
Rakib's father, Mohammad Rubel Hossain, said the family had admitted him to the hospital four days earlier with pneumonia.
According to Rubel, the woman approached his wife, placed her own baby on their hospital bed and offered to comfort Rakib when he began crying.
His wife initially refused but handed over the child after the woman asked again.
The woman did not come back, prompting a search by the family.
Rubel said CCTV footage later showed a woman leaving with Rakib in an autorickshaw accompanied by two young girls.
The family traced the driver, who said he had taken the woman towards Sonarpara in Ukhiya. Their search there yielded nothing.
The three-month-old baby left behind was subsequently transferred to Chhotomoni Nibash, a children's care home in Chattogram's Raufabad, through the district social services office.
A general diary was filed with Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station on Sept 20.
Rakib was the couple's first child.
Rubel said he and his wife had been struggling to cope since his disappearance.
Newborn Taken from Special Care Unit
Twenty days later, another family faced a similar ordeal.
Around 11:25pm on Oct 9, a woman allegedly entered the hospital's SCANU step-down ward, took a newborn and left through the emergency department.
The baby's mother, Rozina Akter, had been admitted to the hospital on Oct 7.
Hospital records show that the suspect had been moving around outside the breastfeeding room from about 9:40pm before entering the ward.
Rozina said she had fed and cleaned her baby at 11:17pm before returning to her room.
It was not until around 2:30am, when another woman asked about the child, that she realised something was wrong.
She alleged that a doctor initially told her not to inform her family, saying hospital staff were searching for the newborn. She eventually called her mother around 3am.
Rozina questioned how someone could enter a ward requiring entry passes and special clothing, then leave with a baby without being stopped.
She alleged that the theft could not have happened without help from someone inside the ward.
The newborn was her first son after five years of marriage.
"I can’t think of compensation or justice. I just want my baby back safe and sound," she said.
The hospital filed a general diary on Oct 10, while the family said it had also taken legal action.
CCTV Failures Hamper Investigations
Police say they have yet to identify the suspects in either case.
Sub-Inspector Rajib Pal, who is investigating the second disappearance, said CCTV footage showed a woman wearing a burqa and face mask, making identification difficult.
He also pointed to problems with the hospital's surveillance system.
"Most of the hospital's CCTV cameras are out of order," he said.
Rajib said investigators were examining possible security lapses alongside other leads.
Sub-Inspector Md Tajul Islam, who is handling Rakib's disappearance, said the investigation had made substantial progress but remained ongoing.
Police have not established whether the two incidents are connected or whether the same group was involved.
A three-member hospital inquiry committee is also investigating the disappearances.
Committee member Shantanu Ghosh said investigators had obtained footage showing some of the suspected woman's movements inside the hospital, but recordings from several external cameras were faulty or unclear.
The committee has sought more time to complete its report while it reviews footage and collects written statements.
Shantanu said the CCTV system was installed around 2019-2020 with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), but its maintenance and backup arrangements were the hospital's responsibility.
Hospital and Police Disagree Over Security
Hospital Superintendent Mong Ting Nyo said the authorities had repeatedly requested additional police personnel, including during major religious festivals, but had not received adequate support.
Another request was made to the superintendent of police following the two disappearances, he said.
Mong argued that the constant movement of patients and visitors made it difficult to identify someone entering the hospital in disguise.
He promised action if any employee was found to have been negligent or involved in the incidents.
But Cox's Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Wahidur Rahman said four to five police personnel, led by an officer, were already stationed at the hospital's police box.
Deploying officers at every point in the hospital was not realistic, he said.
Wahidur questioned how the babies could have been taken from restricted wards despite the presence of nurses, ward attendants and CCTV cameras.
He said the incidents called for a closer examination of the hospital's internal security arrangements.
Ansar personnel had previously guarded important locations at the hospital but were later withdrawn because of budget constraints or internal problems, he added.
Reinstating them could help strengthen security, he suggested.
Families Remain Afraid
The second disappearance triggered anger among local residents and patients' relatives, some of whom vandalised parts of the hospital on Oct 10, according to hospital records.
Civil society representative Abu Morshed Chowdhury Khoka said identifying those responsible for the abductions was only part of the problem.
The hospital also needed to explain how outsiders could enter restricted wards and leave with children, why its CCTV system was not functioning properly and who should be held responsible for security failures, he said.
For parents staying at the hospital, the uncertainty has brought fresh anxiety.
Taslima Akter, who travelled from Morichya in Ramu with a patient, was at the hospital when the second baby disappeared.
She said security had been tightened since the incident, but families still felt unsafe.
"Security has been tightened since the abductions, but we're still afraid. None of us sleeps at night."