Bangladeshi gives birth in India, faces arrest

DHAKA - A Bangladeshi woman who gave birth to a boy in West Bengal faces arrest for entering the Indian state illegally, a newspaper reported Friday.

Asma Bibi, 25, complained of severe labour pain Monday and was taken to the nearest medical facility, which was a hospital in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district, the Daily Star said.

Hospital authorities knew the woman was from Bangladesh but admitted her on humanitarian grounds. Soon, she gave birth to a boy.

According to her husband Shajahan, since she was in great pain, leaders of the India-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee contacted security personnel for the border crossing.

Now, however, Indian authorities are contemplating arresting the Bangladeshi couple for seeking medical facilities in India without valid papers, the daily said.

But other residents of the border region are saying that instead of arresting the new born’s parents, a birth certificate should be issued to the family.