Physical abuse: Initial medical exam confirms child maid was tortured

Rawalpindi CPO says girl’s employers booked, ASI suspended for not filing FIR

RAWALPINDI: A day after disturbing images and videos of a tortured 11-year-old child maid* shook the nation’s collective conscience, her employers were booked for allegedly torturing the child on multiple occasions.

The Rawalpindi police on Sunday brought the girl back to the garrison city from Faisalabad to record her statement and to conduct a medical exam which confirmed torture.

This was disclosed by Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Abbas Ahsan during a news conference at the Rawalpindi Police Lines on Sunday evening.

During the news briefing, CPO Ahsan said that they had taken action soon after images and videos of the tortured child maid went viral on social media.

He added that they immediately contacted the Faisalabad police and dispatched a squad to her native village in Samundari, Faisalabad. The child and her father were then taken into protective custody and brought back to Rawalpindi where the girl recorded her statement with the Cantonment police.

The preliminary report of the medical examination, CPO Ahsan said, had confirmed that the child had been tortured with multiple torture marks visible on various parts of her face and body with some of the marks dating as far back as 15-20 days. He added that there appeared to be a deep wound on her head which had signs of three stitches while the girl cannot move her arm freely.

Moreover, it was disclosed that child had been working for the Wilayat Colony residents for the past two-and-a-half-years and was allegedly beaten up on multiple occasions during this period on various pretexts. Moreover, when the husband and wife duo left the house, they would allegedly lock her in a room.

CPO Ahsan added that the husband and wife duo have been booked for illegal confinement, physical abuse in a case registered at the Airport Police Station.

The case was registered based on the child’s statement and under the supervision of the Punjab Child Protection Bureau.

The military authorities have also been informed to take further action, CPO Ahsan said.

The couple, however, has yet to be arrested with police officers saying they were not found at home when it was raided.

ASI suspended

CPO Ahsan further told the news briefing that they were aware that the child’s father had taken the girl to the Airport police station to lodge a complaint by the officer on duty had only recorded their statement without registering a case and sent them off to their native village.

The Rawalpindi CPO added that they have suspended an ASI who did not take timely action in the case and that he and any other officers found complicit in the matter, will be subject to exemplary action once a departmental inquiry into the incident is complete.

The child was then handed over the Child Protection Bureau. Abuse of domestic helpers is pervasive nationwide with scores of incidents reported regularly.

Earlier this year, an additional district and sessions judge and his spouse were convicted of torturing their child maid, burning hand, beating her with a ladle, detaining her in a storeroom and threatening her with even worse. Their one-year prison sentence was later enhanced to three years by the Islamabad High Court.

NAME WITHHELD TO PROTECT IDENTITY

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2018.