Ali Hassan
A child maid who was beaten up by neighbours of the house she worked at did not show injuries at the time of her medical examination because it was conducted six days after the attack, the Child Protection Bureau (CPB) revealed on Thursday.
The bureau submitted its findings in a report to a special judicial magistrate in which it said she was attacked on December 3 and examined on December 9.
The police did not conduct the medical examination promptly, claiming that the 11-year-old did not have any injuries to show. It was done later on the court’s order.
The maid was employed at a house on Canal Road and was beaten for a fight over peacocks. The neighbours took turns to slap and kick the child, before dragging her out by her hair.
The ordeal was recorded by the CCTV cameras of another house. The video, which was uploaded on social media, has since gone viral.
The child’s employers attempted to sweep the matter under the rug by sending the child back to her family.
Members of the family that tortured the girl alleged that she thrashed their children and turned them away when they went to see peacocks at her employer’s house. She says the children were hitting the peacocks and their mother beat her up when she told them to stop.
Authorities sprang into action after people expressed their anger over the incident on social media.
The Child Protection Bureau then submitted a complaint to the Madina Town police station, while the Punjab inspector-general of police ordered the arrest of the culprits.
A Bureau team arrived to take the girl into protective custody but she had already been taken away.
The police registered a case against the maid’s employers and their neighbours. They have arrested Rana Muneer, the head of the family that tortured the maid. However, Muneer was not pictured in the CCTV footage. His daughter, Samina Muneer, son-in-law and grandson were.
