Torture Case
Somia Asim, accused of beating up a minor housemaid and confining her against her will, had her bail request approved by Additional Session Judge Muhammad Haroon in Islamabad on Monday. The judge approved her bail on a Rs100,000 surety bond.
Authorities arrested Somia from the court premises on August 7 following the rejection of her bail plea by a district and sessions court in the maid torture case.
The court ordered the police to take her into custody. The case began when Manga Khan, the father of the maid, filed a complaint.
He had sent his daughter, Rizwana Bibi, aged 13, to work at the house of the civil judge in the Zarta Housing Society in Islamabad, with a monthly salary of Rs10,000.
Upon arrival, Khan, along with his wife and brother-in-law, found the girl in a deteriorated condition, crying, and badly wounded.
The complaint revealed that Rizwana had fractured ribs and injuries on her back. When questioned about the abuser, Rizwana alleged that the judge’s wife subjected her to daily torture and occasionally denied her food.
Somia appeared in court on August 8, where she was sent to jail on judicial remand, rejecting the police’s request for physical remand. Two days later, Judicial Magistrate Shaista Kundi denied Somia’s post-arrest bail petition.
Rizwana’s initial medical report indicated her blood pressure at 41/70 and hemoglobin levels at 8 when she arrived at Lahore’s General Hospital. The report detailed 15 wounds on her body, including one on her head, and damage to her internal organs.
It also revealed that Rizwana was suffering from sepsis, with both her lungs affected and signs of poisoning.
