Medical board confirms child maid was tortured

ISLAMABAD: A six-member medical board constituted by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Monday confirmed that the 11-year-old maid was tortured by her employers in the E-11 sector of Islamabad.

“The board found around a dozen wounds of different types, which were not of the same age, on the body of the girl. This showed the girl faced torture for a long time,” Pims Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram said, adding a report would be handed over to the police within 48 hours.

Moreover, the girl, a native of Rahim Yar Khan, was also produced in the court of an assistant commissioner (AC) where she recorded her statement saying the family used to torture her.

According to initial reports, the inmates of the house, including a woman and her son, not only tortured the girl but also cut her hair.

Pims vice chancellor says around a dozen wounds were found on the body of the 11-year-old girl
On the complaint of a neighbour, the police took the girl into custody 17 and shifted her to Pims for medical treatment on March 17.

The police at that time decided to bring the child to Pims again for a medico-legal report on March 18.

However, they did not bring her back and started requesting the hospital administration to prepare a report based on the observations of the casualty medical officer (CMO) who had treated her in the emergency on March 17.

However, as the matter was highlighted in the media, the Pims administration formed the medical board to examine the girl and prepare the report.

The board was headed by surgeon Dr Tanvir Khaliq with psychiatrist Dr Rizwan Taj, burn expert Dr Tariq Iqbal, gynaecologist Dr Nasira, medico-legal officers Dr Farrukh Kamal and Dr Nasreen Butt as its members. As Dr Nasira was on leave, Dr Kausar Bangash participated in the board.

The girl was brought to Pims from the crisis centre in H-8 at 11am on Monday. After her examination by the board, Dr Akram confirmed to the media that the girl was tortured, adding her hair were also found cut.

“There were marks of torture but wounds of any sharp tool such as knife or blade were not found on the body. The child was severely upset because of what she had been facing during the last a few weeks or months,” he said.

“The girl had also continuously received punches and slaps from the family. The marks were of different ages which showed she had continuously been facing torture,” he said.

In reply to a question, Dr Akram said though the medical board confirmed that the girl was tortured it was the job of the police to investigate and find other aspects and angles to the case.

He said after being examined by the board the girl was taken back to the crisis centre.

A member of the medical board, Dr Farrukh Kamal, told Dawn that there were also two burn marks, one on the arm and the other on the rear of the girl’s neck.

“There were around a dozen marks on the body of the girl,” he confirmed.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Abdul Sattar Isani told Dawn that while recording her statement in front of the AC the girl stated that the woman and her son used to torture her.

“She said even they used to throw hot water on her body and many times locked her in a room. The girl also alleged that the woman used to keep her hungry. Moreover, there was another maid from Lahore but she left the work because of the attitude of the family,” he said.

Source: Dawn