During a four-hour traffic closure to make room for the Bangladesh presidential convoy, a newborn baby died in a public transport. Despite repeated requests to the police about the medical emergency, the auto rickshaw carrying the baby to the hospital was not allowed to move. The baby died on the lap of the mother before her very eyes.

The incident came to public knowledge when a young student called Ismail recorded the tragedy and posted it on his Facebook page on April 26, 2023. Ismail was picked up by police the next day and booked under the draconian Digital Security Act (DSA), which prohibits criticism of Hasina regime’s wrongdoings, corruptions and other crimes. He is languishing in jail without bail, which also at times means torture.

The tragedy happened on April 26, 2023 when the new president Mohammed Shahabuddin was visiting the grave of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara, in a southern district of Bangladesh. Police imposed traffic curfew for hours to facilitate the presidential journey.

The mother of the victim ran door to door for help, and said to have paid Taka 20,000 (almost US $200) to the police, but to no avail. The presiding judge reportedly blamed the student Ismail for unnecessarily scandalizing the event when the people should have welcomed the president. The death of a child meant nothing to the custodian of justice of Bangladesh.

The Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) strongly condemns such blatant police negligence in which a newborn baby had to die before the very eyes of the mother, as well as the miscarriage of justice by the courts. CHRD Bangladesh urges an urgent inquiry of the incident and punish the persons responsible for such a human tragedy.