Father of 10-year-old housemaid 'forgives' judge for torturing daughter

Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan allegedly tortured the housemaid

ISLAMABAD:

The father of a 10-year-old housemaid on Tuesday 'forgave' the sessions court judge who allegedly physically tortured his daughter, Express News reported.

The father of the child told an Islamabad court he forgave the judge and his wife, and had "no objections" to the court granting bail to the suspects. He claimed that he had investigated the matter on his own and found the case to be a false one.

Last week, police recovered the injured girl from Islamabad Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan's house. The move came after allegations that the girl had been employed as a housemaid in violation of child labour laws and had been subjected to torture.



An FIR was also registered against the judge on December 29 for threats and wrongful confinement. However, media reports revealed that the parents have willingly decided to forgive the judge.

The controversy started after pictures posted on microblogging website Twitter showed a child with a swollen eye and injuries to her face and hands went viral on social media on December 28. The posts claimed that the girl had been beaten up by Khan for allegedly failing to repay a loan of Rs6,000.

A police team recovered the child from the judge’s house in Sector I-8 after the issue was taken up by human rights activists in Islamabad. Police sources told The Express Tribune that the girl, T*, had injuries to and around her eye and burns on one of her hands.



Police sources said that in her initial statement, the child told them that she had accidentally fallen and injured herself. The police, however, took her to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for medical tests.

*Name of minor child withheld