Court rescues ‘detained’ maid, sends her home

Girl’s father said she was being abused, kept against her will.

LAHORE: A house maid was given into her father’s custody after police recovered her from her employer’s house on court directions.

The petitioner, Niyamat Masih, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the court of District and Sessions Judge, Abdul Waheed Khan. He had submitted that Adeela, his daughter, had been employed as a sweeper for Rs4,000 per month at the house of Tania Begum six months ago.

He informed the court that his daughter had not been in contact with him after she started working at the respondent’s house. Masih had told the court that his nephew had visited Adeela and seen bruises on her body.

According to Masih, his nephew had requested Tania Begum to allow Adeela to go home with him but the respondent had refused.

He added that the respondent had threatened his nephew.

Masih had told the court that he had sought assistance from the Model Town police station SHO who did not help him. The father had requested the court to recover his daughter. The court directed the SHO to recover Adeela and to present the respondent before the court.

On Thursday, counsel for the respondent appeared before the court and said that Adeela was not being held forcibly and that she was free to go with her parents if she wanted.

Adeela told the court that she wanted to go with her father. The judge disposed of the petition after handing her over to her father.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2011.