Yesterday, this paper carried a report about three women being arrested for murdering a baby girl who was born out of wedlock. The Sahar police used a medical receipt and good detective skills to crack the case wide open in just 24 hours.

Some residents alerted the police about the body of a baby floating in a nullah near the Sahar International Airport. Investigations led to the killers. The mother of the woman who had the baby and the woman’s sister had killed the seven-day old. The woman who delivered the baby is not married and had become pregnant because she was in a physical relationship with her neighbour, who is a vegetable vendor. Her mother and sister were against her having the baby. They took an auto, killed the baby on the way, and threw her body into the nullah. All three women were arrested, produced in holiday court and remanded in police custody. While the sheer brutality and heartlessness is enough to chill, it is important to note the motive behind the murder, the shame and stigma associated with having a baby out of wedlock.