Report shines grisly light on child maid torture

Medical report says child suffered 11 burn, trauma injuries; SC takes up case today

ISLAMABAD: A medical report that confirms 11 trauma and burn injuries on the body of a child maid, Tayyaba Bibi, is to be presented today [Wednesday] before a Supreme Court bench that is hearing a suo moto case about alleged torture of the child by a judge and his wife.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife, Maheen Zafar, are accused of keeping the child – their employee – in wrongful confinement, burning her hand, beating her with a ladle, detaining her in a storeroom and threatening her.



The story of the torture was picked up by the media on December 29 after it went viral on social media. Subsequently, the police registered a case and the Islamabad High Court’s top judge also took notice and directed the registrar to initiate an inquiry.

But the supposed father of the girl pardoned her tormentor and went missing with the child. The Supreme Court took suo motu notice of the incident; overruled the ‘pardon’ granted to the judge and his wife and directed the police to present the girl.

On Sunday night the police recovered the juvenile housemaid after multiple raids in Islamabad and other cities. Later on Monday, Tayyaba was presented before a new medical board – comprising professors of general medicine, plastic surgery and psychology departments – of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

The report reveals that the child sustained 11 contact burn and trauma injuries and infection on face and neck, both knees, right thigh, left toe, back, right and left arms, and right buttock.

The report concludes that the wounds over back and her left hand are most probably due to contact burns. “The hand wound is full thickness skin loss and healing while wounds over back are almost healed. There are multiple old healed scars marks over her body,” it says.

“The child has marks of small and large multiple wounds of contact burn that are caused when any hot item comes into contact with the body,” explains a health expert while requesting anonymity.



“Multiple new and old burn marks on various parts of body cannot be sustained at once and seem to be inflicted on her at different times. This does not seem to be a normal phenomenon,” he adds.

In the report, child specialist Dr Maqbool Hussain and psychiatrist Prof Rizwan Taj said the victim was anxious and scared but there was no evidence of any psychiatric disorder and she is fit as far as her higher mental functions are concerned.

On Tuesday, Tayyaba was again brought to the hospital for age assessment. It is claimed she is 9 to 10 years old; however, her wrist and bone X-rays were conducted to know her exact age.

The doctors said she was relaxed and answering frankly when asked about the injuries.

The child is quite bright, said one of the doctors. “She smiled when we told her that she has been appearing on television and that we will make her an anchorperson when she grows up. She has multiple, small burn wounds on the face and neck,” he said.

“When we asked how she sustained the marks she said: ‘Mano Baji [judge’s wife] lit a match stick and burned me.’ She said the judge’s wife used to beat her and burn her if she forgot to clean some part of the house or did not do other household chores,” he quoted her as saying.

Initially, she was confabulating and giving different conflicting statements, a doctor had earlier said. The report is to be presented today before the Supreme Court along with the child.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2017.