SC takes suo moto notice of child maid's alleged torture
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has taken suo moto notice of the alleged torture of a child maid in Islamabad, a Supreme Court spokesperson told DawnNews.
The notice was taken after media reported that the father of the 10-year-old 'forgave' her alleged tormentors.
The registrar at Islamabad High Court has been asked to submit a detailed report within 24 hours on the matter.
A medical board comprising a general surgeon, a plastic surgeon, a burn surgeon and a psychiatrist, was constituted by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after the Office of District Magistrate Islamabad issued a letter to the hospital administration, asking it "to re-examine" the wounds on the girl's body.
The letter had stated that there were wounds on the back side of the victim which "could not be seen in the earlier examination".
It further stated that the Islamabad police senior superintendent assigned to the case had requested for such a board to be formed so that the investigation could conclude "on merits".
The initial medical examination report issued by PIMS had stated the wounds on the girl's body were the result of blunt trauma, and the burns were attributed to an "accidental matchbox".
The newly formed board has been asked to submit its report in 48 hours.
The case came to light last week after photos of the child following the alleged torture began circulating on social media.
In a First Information Report, the 10-year-old girl stated that she had been living at the house of Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan for nearly two years.
The girl claimed that she was often beaten up in the house. Most recently, she alleged ‘Mano Baji’, Khan's wife, shoved her hands onto a burning stove and then beat her after a broom went missing.
She said the owners of the house would usually lock her up in a storeroom at night besides starving and beating her.
The police took the girl into custody after recovering her from the house of the judge.
However, the father of the child appeared in court on Tuesday and said he had "no objections" to the court granting bail to the suspects. He claimed that he had investigated the matter on his own and found the case to be a false one.