LAHORE: Police on Sunday arrested former superintendent of Kashana Welfare Home, a shelter home for the destitute girls, and her husband over hurling threats to a naib qasid.

Kashana Welfare Home naib qasid Younis stated that he went to Ms Latif’s house to deliver an official courier. He knocked at the door and she appeared at the gate and took away his official register and courier.

He said he remained in the street for half an hour to get back his register and meanwhile, Noshad Hameed, husband of the former superintendent, came and started abusing and thrashing him.

He also hurled threats of dire consequences and CCTV footage of the incident was also available.

He demanded action against the former superintendent and her husband.

The Township police registered a case against Afshan Latif and her husband Mr Hameed. Police on Sunday arrested both the suspects and started the investigation.

In November 2019, Ms Latif had alleged in a video statement that underage girls dwelling in the shelter home were forced into marriages by the Director General Social Welfare.

In the video posted on Twitter, she claimed the director general who wanted to curry favour with a provincial minister and high-ups, was putting pressure on orphan girls including those aged between 16 and 17 years to enter underage marriages. Ms Latif said the girls were being exploited in the name of food and shelter.

She claimed she was removed from her post after she approached the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT) with a request for an inquiry into the matter. She had appealed to the chief justice and the prime minister to take notice of the alleged misuse of orphan girls living in shelters.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2021