RAWALPINDI: A suspect, who is in the custody of police for torturing a minor domestic worker to death, will be produced before a judge today, as a police team took him to Lahore on Monday for his DNA test to take the investigation forward.

A police official who was leading the investigation into the case said that the employer of the deceased domestic worker was driven to Lahore for a DNA test on Monday as had been prescribed by the doctor and he will be produced in the court of area magistrate Imran Qureshi on Tuesday after the completion of his remand.

Following the registration of a case, the couple along with a purported accomplice was arrested by the Banni police, which sought custody of the suspects. The husband and wife were remanded into police custody for four days each while the co-accused was sent on judicial remand. After the four-day remand, the police sought the couple’s custody for four more days, which was subsequently granted.

The third request for an extension in the physical remand was partially denied, as the court sent the wife on judicial remand while the husband was remanded into police custody for four more days. The remand will complete today, and he will be produced before a court after a 12-day remand.

The co-accused who had been sent on judicial remand for 14 days will be produced before a court of law on Feb 27.

Earlier this month, the Banni police arrested three people after a 12-year-old girl employed as a domestic worker at a house in Asghar Mall Scheme succumbed to her injuries in Holy Family Hospital in the garrison city. The case was registered on the complaint of her father Sanaullah under the Punjab Protection of Helpless and Neglected Children Act and also included sections pertaining to torture, illegal detention, and murder, as well as concealing the crime and destroying evidence.

Twelve-year-old Iqra was moved to the hospital by a woman, who is now a co-accused after her condition deteriorated due to severe injuries on her head and other parts of her body.

According to the initial police investigation and doctor’s findings, the girl had fractures on her leg, arm, and skull and had been kept hungry and thirsty for three days before being shifted to the hospital. She had been with the family as a domestic maid for 18 months as her parents had made an agreement for two years.

The police said a head injury caused a skull fracture that led to her death. The deceased girl’s parents were too poor to afford the transportation of their daughter’s body to their native town for burial, so the local police made all arrangements.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2025