Lahore court sends 3 women on physical remand over involvement in domestic worker’s murder

Published January 24, 2019
body of a teenage domestic worker was recovered by police from a stormwater drain in Lahore's Iqbal Town area. —File
body of a teenage domestic worker was recovered by police from a stormwater drain in Lahore's Iqbal Town area. —File

Three women accused of murdering a 15-year-old domestic worker in Lahore were handed over to police custody on a two-day physical remand on Wednesday. The case proceedings were held in a district and sessions court, where Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Zia Khan pronounced the court's decision.

On Sunday, the body of a teenage domestic worker was recovered by police from a stormwater drain in Lahore's Iqbal Town area.

Later on Tuesday, Superintendent Police (SP) Investigation Shazia Sarwar announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with the alleged murder of the domestic worker.

Subsequently, a case was registered against the three women — owner of the house where the victim worked, the owner's daughter and her sister-in-law — on the complaint of the victim's father under Sections 302 (punishment for qatl-i-amd), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Explore: Abuse and hush money — Pakistan's domestic workers caught in a dangerous cycle of violence

"The accused tortured the domestic worker which led to her death," said SP Sarwar, adding that the accused "dumped the girl's body in the drain nearby Neelum Block".

The officer revealed that the women had also made a "fake call to the police helpline claiming that the girl had run away after stealing from them". She said that the three women were traced using CCTV footage and the call data record (CDR) of the mobile phones used.

A homicide unit led by Sub Inspector (SI) Murad Rasool then arrested the women.

A post-mortem examination of the victim girl was conducted but a report is yet to be released.

Opinion

Editorial

Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...
Provincial share
Updated 17 Mar, 2024

Provincial share

PPP has aptly advised Centre to worry about improving its tax collection rather than eying provinces’ share of tax revenues.
X-communication
17 Mar, 2024

X-communication

IT has now been a month since Pakistani authorities decided that the country must be cut off from one of the...
Stateless humanity
17 Mar, 2024

Stateless humanity

THE endless hostility between India and Pakistan has reduced prisoners to mere statistics. Although the two ...