Child maid murder case: Despite court orders, FIR not registered

Mother of Shazia, the child maid, continues compensation fight.

LAHORE:

Despite court orders, Lytton Road police have not registered a case on the application of Nasreen Bibi, the mother of deceased child maid Shazia, against her former husband and in-laws for alleged assault and attempt to kidnap.

Nasreen’s daughter Shazia died while in the employ of a prominent lawyer and her death sparked protests among Christians, many of whom work as domestic servants. The government announced compensation of Rs500,000 for Shazia’s family, but disputes over who is entitled to that money seem to have led to the break-up of her family.

Nasreen told The Express Tribune that she had been trying since April 12 to get a case registered against her ex-husband Bashir Masih, his sons Suhail and Javed and his brother Siddique for assaulting her and trying to kidnap her, but the police had refused to do so.

According to her application, on April 12 the four men punched and kicked her, tore her clothes and took her purse which had Rs3,200 in it. She alleged that the men tried to kidnap her, but she was saved by a man named Allah Ditta.

She said they had attacked her because they wanted her to withdraw an application in which she accuses Bashir of illegally getting the Rs500,000 compensation cheque cut in his name.

She later moved the court of Additional District Judge Husnain Qadir Ghalloo, who on April 29 ordered the police to register the FIR.

She said the police were refusing to comply with court orders. She said some police officials were pushing her to reconcile with the accused.

She alleged that Assistant Sub Inspector Abdur Razzaq had twice arrested the accused but released them upon being paid a bribe. She said she had warned the ASI that she would file a contempt of court petition against him, but he still ignored her.

Nasreen said that the police had conducted a medico-legal report after the assault on her. The report, available with The Express Tribune, showed that she had bruises on her left arm, below the left eye, on her abdomen and on her right thigh. After the initial report, the examining medical officer referred her to an eye ward for further treatment.

Lytton Road Station House Officer Khalid Farooq, a sub inspector, said he knew nothing of the case or Nasreen’s application. He denied that any officer had accepted a bribe.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2011.