As a first information report into the case of the violence against a minor domestic worker in Islamabad was registered against a civil judge and his wife who employed her, the judicial officer has claimed that the girl was beaten up by her own mother.
The 14-year-old domestic worker, Rizwana, was found badly wounded at the house of the administrative officer of the Islamabad Judicial Academy.
A case has been registered against Civil Judge Asim Hafeez and his wife at the Hamak police station of Islamabad on the application of the victim’s father, Manga Khan.
The contents of the FIR state that the applicant had sent his 14-year-old daughter Rizwana for work to the residence of Civil Judge Asim Hafeez, who is also the administrative officer of the Islamabad Judicial Academy, through a relative, Chaudhry Mukhtar.
It says that the girl’s salary was fixed at Rs10,000 per month, while the wife of the judge would sometimes make her talk to her parents over the phone.
Her father claims that two days ago, when they went to meet the girl, they found her locked in a room. He added that there were injury marks on her body, face and arm.
According to the FIR, the girl told them that the judge’s wife Saumya used to torture her daily.
“I returned home to Sargodha with my daughter and admitted her to a hospital,” the father said in the FIR. The doctors sent her to Lahore after her condition worsened, he further said, and appealed for justice for his daughter, who he said had been brutally tortured.
Islamabad police has said that efforts are being made to arrest the suspects, while the case will be investigated on merit. They further said that all legal requirements will be fulfilled.
They stressed that law is equal for everyone. Judge rejects claims wife tortured girl meanwhile, the civil judge has claimed that the minor domestic worker was not tortured by his wife, but the girl’s mother.
He further claimed that the girl was not interested in staying at their house, adding that she did not want to go back home over the fear of her mother.
Asim Hafeez claimed he has never believed in violence, and further said the girl had been staying with them since December 2022.
He also alleged that the girl ate soil mixed with manure, which caused the infection in her. He added that the marks on the girl’s face were due to the reaction from eating the mud.
The judge further claimed that when the girl’s mother received saw her, she started beating her there and then.
“The girl used to wear a scarf due to which the head injuries were not visible,” he claimed. “I am really surprised to hear that the matter has become so complicated.”
CT Scan done, 12-member medical board formed, Meanwhile, a CT scan was conducted to assess the head injury of the girl, and a 12-member medical board formed by the General Hospital to treat her.
As per the hospital officials, the CT Scan showed that there was no injury on the girl’s head. Due to non-treatment of the wounds on her head, they had been infested with maggots, the authorities claimed, adding that both the arms of the girl were fractured a few weeks ago.
Due to non-treatment, the fractured bones began to self-attach at the wrong places. The girl’s fractured arms will undergo separate operations, the hospital officials said.
On the other hand, a 12-member medical board was formed at the General Hospital for the treatment of the minor girl. The board will be headed by Prof Dr Jodat Saleem.
A team of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau visited Rizwana at the Lahore General Hospital and met with her parents.
They assured the family of all kinds of assistance, while CPWB Chairwoman Sarah Ahmed said the alleged torture victim would be helped with her treatment.
Meanwhile, caretaker Punjab Health Minister Dr Javed Akram told the media during his visit to the hospital that the domestic worker was tortured over six months. The suspects will be proceeded against as per the law, he vowed, stressing that there was a need to implement the laws regarding child rights.
Dr Akram said the victim would be provided the best treatment facilities, adding that according to the media report, there were marks of brutal torture on the girl’s body.
