Pakistani prisoner to return after childbirth

Bengaluru: Sameera, a Pakistani national who along with two other Pakistanis and one Keralite was arrested by the city police for illegally staying in the city, is expected to return Parappana Agrahara Central Prison from Vani Vilas Hospital on Saturday.

The 25-year-old woman who was pregnant at the time of arrest gave a birth to baby girl at Vani Vilas Hospital two weeks ago. This is the second incident of an inmate delivering a child, first being in Dharwad Central jail two years ago. But, unlike Sameera’s case, the woman in Dharwad jail had delivered the child at the jail, a jail official said.

O nce Sameera returns to the jail, the naming ceremony will be organised by the authorities. Since the baby is born in India, she could be an Indian national and accordingly the documents will be prepared.

Sameera is the wife of Mohammed Shihab (26), who hails from Kerala. Shihab was working as an office boy in Qatar since 2012, while Sameera, who hails from Karachi, was a domestic help. They fell in love, but her parents were against their relationship. However, they got married against the wishes of their families. Sameera who was pregnant then was forced to undergo an abortion by her parents. Unable to bear the harassment, Sameera, with the help of her cousin Shamshuddin, managed to contact Shihab over the phone and went to Qatar. Later, Shihab took Sameera and other two to Kathmandu in Nepal. From there, they crossed over to India and reached Bihar and came to Bengaluru by train. They were staying in Banashankari.