Pakistan judge accused of torturing child maid

ISLAMABAD: An influential judge in Pakistan, who has been charged with employing a 10-year-old girl as maid and torturing her, has secured a pre-arrest bail.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan, who was suspended after the case surfaced in December, obtained the bail from the court of his fellow judge here.

ADSJ Raja Asif Mehmood Khan granted the interim bail to Khan, Dawn reported on Tueday. Khan had sought the bail to prevent his arrest.

The court issued notices to the Station House Officer (SHO) Industrial Area and the parents of the maid for January 26 when the pre-arrest bail may or may not be confirmed.

Khan’s wife has already been granted bail in the case, which made headlines after pictures of the traumatized and tortured minor girl went viral on the social media.

Pakistan’s Chief Justice Saqib Nisar took suo moto action in the case and ordered police to investigate the judge and his family.

An investigation into the alleged abuse of the maid found Khan employing the girl as a maid. The investigation also confirmed torture on her body by the spouse of the judge.

An incomplete investigation report submitted to the Supreme Court on January 18 stated that the investigation was carried out from all angles and it revealed the young girl was brutally tortured by the woman accused.

The police have accused the judge of employing the little girl as maid without provid- ing her an appropriate medical treatment on seeing the ‘acute’ injuries.

“He cannot be absolved at this stage,” the report read.

On December 2, after the completion of the initial inquiry, Khan had reached a compromise with the parents of the girl and on the basis of the compromise deed his wife obtained a pre-arrest bail the same day.

Under Section 328-A of Pakistan Penal Code, the accused can be imprisoned from one to three years or fined from 100,000 to 300,000 rupees or given double punishment of sentence and fine.