Teenage housemaid alleges torture by employer’s wife in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: A 13-year-old domestic worker was allegedly subjected to abuse by her employer’s wife in Bahria Town Phase VIII, according to police, who said raids were under way to arrest the remaining suspects.

The case was registered at Rawat police station after a police constable reported that he came across the girl while on night duty in Sector P of Bahria Town Phase VIII. In the first information report, foot constable Mohammad Adeel Riaz said he heard the screams of a young girl who was running out of a house and seeking help.

According to the FIR, the girl identified herself and told police that her parents had placed her in domestic work through a company four months earlier for a monthly wage of Rs20,000. She alleged that during that period she had not been allowed to contact her parents or visit them.

In her statement, the girl alleged that she was repeatedly assaulted by the couple employing her. "I was often tortured, beaten by the couple who also burnt her by using electrical devices and used to bite her with her teeth," she told police.

The FIR also stated that there were bruises and marks of teeth bites on different parts of her body.

The girl also told police that she had been confined to a room but had now managed to escape. After she approached police, her mother was contacted.

Police said the girl was later taken to the Rural Health Center for a medical examination while in police custody. A police spokesman said the affected child had received treatment and was being handed over to the Child Protection Department.

Police action ordered

City Police Officer Syed Khalid Mahmood Hamdani took notice of the reported violence against the child domestic worker in the Rawat police station area. He sought a report from the SP Sadar Division and directed that the accused be arrested immediately.

A police spokesman said a case had been registered at Rawat police station on the complaint of the police. He added that those arrested included the accused involved in the violence as well as the parents of the domestic worker, while raids were continuing to apprehend the remaining suspects.

The spokesman said police teams were conducting raids to arrest those still at large. The CPO said those responsible for violence against the girl would be brought to justice.

The incident was reported from Bahria Town’s Phase VIII area in Rawalpindi, where police said the investigation and arrests were continuing.