Family protests delay in autopsy of child maid

FAISALABAD:

Relatives of a child maid allegedly killed by her employers on Friday staged a demonstration against doctors of Allied Hospital to protest against delay in her post mortem examination.

Maria Rizwan, 10, was working as a housemaid at the house Zaeem Shah in Shadman Colony when died.

Her family had protested in front of his house when they were told that she had fallen off stairs on Wednesday.

On Thursday, they gathered in front of the mortuary of Allied Hospital and protest against hospital administration for delaying post mortem examination.

Abdul Lateef, one of the protesters, told newsmen that police had sent the body for autopsy on Wednesday.

“We spent the entire night in the cold waiting for the post mortem report. In the morning, we were told that it had not yet started,” he said.

The protesters chanted slogans and urged administration of Allied Hospital to speed up the post mortem examination.

Allied Hospital Medical Superintendent (MS) Rashid Maqbool met the protesters and assured them that the autopsy would be conducted as soon as possible.

Maqbool said post mortem examinations were normally conducted during the day.

He said forensic experts left at sunset and the morgue was closed on Sundays. He said the body had arrived at the hospital late in the evening.

He said according to the preliminary examination, the girl had been beaten.

Peoples Colony SHO said a case had been registered on the complaint of Rizwan, father of the girl.

“The complainant told us that he was contacted by Zaeem Shah and that Maria was unwell and she needed medical attention,” he said.

He said police had recovered Maria’s body from the house. He said one of her arms was broken. He said the accused had left the house.

“Safiya, another maid at the house, said Zaeem Shah and his wife Zainab Bibi had beaten the girl to death when she burnt their clothes while ironing them,” he said.

He said police believed that the girl had died from her wounds because she had not received prompt medical attention.

He said Shah and Zainab had been arrested in a raid.

Investigation Officer Shafqat Shah said the couple would be produced before a judicial magistrate for their physical remand on Friday.

Shah said he had not killed Maria deliberately. He said he had slapped her and she had tripped and fallen off stairs.

“We were arranging transport to take her to a hospital when she died,” he said. He said he regretted her death.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2015.