Preteen housemaid ‘tortured to death’

Three nominated accused arrested, deny allegations of violence

JARANWALA:

A young housemaid was allegedly beaten to death in Neemat Colony on Saturday. Police acted quickly, arrested the nominated accused and registered a case. Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Child Protection and Welfare Buereau Sarah Ahmed dispatched a team to the housemaid's employers’ residence after learning of the incident.

Four months ago, 12-year-old Ayesha was hired by school teachers Fazlur Rahman, Sunila Tufail, and Raheela Tufail as domestic help at a wage of Rs12,000.

The victim was allegedly tortured by Fazlur Rahman, Sunila Tufail and Raheela. She was fine when her mother visited her a month ago, but the accused allegedly abused Ayesha after she left.

The victim's head, hands, arms and legs all bore marks of physical abuse. Ayesha was allegedly tortured on Friday night as well, which led to serious deterioration of her health. She was taken to Civil Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

Upon learning about the violent incident, police officers from SP Madina Town, ASP People's Colony and SHO Madina Town Umar Sarfraz Waraich arrived at the scene.

Police shifted the body to hospital for a post-mortem examination, arrested Fazlur Rehman, Sunila Tufail and Raheela Tufail and started the investigation process by registering case no 649/24 Crime 302/34 PPC against the three accused upon the statement of Murtaza, the father of the murdered girl.

Marks of torture were found on the body upon examination. The postmortem report will clarify the cause of death. The arrested accused claimed that they did not torture the house maid and that the marks on her body were caused by allergies. After taking notice of the situation, City Police Officer Captain (Rtd) Muhammad Ali Zia ordered SP Medina Town to submit a thorough report about the incident.

However, CPWB Chairperson Sarah Ahmad took notice of Ayesha’s death and issued instructions to her team to contact the relatives of the deceased, stating that the Bureau will do its part to hold Ayesha's killers accountable and offer the family all assistance possible.

Ahmad further stated that the bureau will extend complete legal assistance to the family of the deceased domestic worker. "We share the grief of the bereaved family over this incident," she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2024.