FAISALABAD: A woman accused of torturing a minor maid was remanded in 14-day judicial custody on Monday.

The Madina Town police arrested the woman and produced her before magistrate Muhammad Nasrullah and requested the court that physical custody of the suspect was not required.

After going through the case record, the magistrate said section 34 of the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004 was non-bailable that’s why the woman was being remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

The magistrate directed the police to produce the suspect before the court on Dec 21 and also submit a complete or incomplete report of the case under section 173 of the CrPC.

Munir Ahmed, woman’s husband, had been booked in the case on same charges, however, the magistrate granted him post-arrest bail on Sunday.

The police said they had requested the court to send Munir to jail for 14 days although nothing was required to recover from his possession.

Munir and his wife had been booked by the Madina Town police on Dec 5 on charges of subjecting minor maid Sadaf, a resident of Sahiwal, to torture. A footage showing torture had gone viral on the social media which invited the attention of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau and the police officials as well.

A local lawyer, Zafar Iqbal, said he would provide free legal aid to Sadaf’s family.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2020