Islamabad police form JIT to probe maid torture case

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police on Friday constituted a five-member special joint investigation team (JIT) to conduct a probe into the brutal torture of an underage domestic maid in the capital city.

The victim, Rizwana, hailing from Sargodha, was critically shifted to Lahore General Hospital on July 24 after the wife of a civil judge in Islamabad allegedly subjected her to severe torture, accusing her of stealing gold jewelry.

According to the girl’s medico-legal certificate (MLC), she suffered from various injuries, including lacerations on her head, forehead, and upper lips, broken incisor and canine teeth, nosebleed, multiple bruises on her legs and back, and attempted strangulation.

Case registered against Civil Judge’s wife for torturing teenage domestic helper

Initially, the police were hesitant to register an FIR, but eventually did so on July 26, charging the judge’s wife with criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement. Later, the FIR was expanded to include eight additional sections, including murder.

Recently, the suspect, identified as Somia Asim, was granted pre-arrest bail until August 7 by an Islamabad district and sessions court.

According to Dawn, in a notification released today, the capital police mentioned that the JIT was formed to investigate the torture case based on “sheer merit.”

The JIT is led by Islamabad DIG (Operations) Shahzad Ahmad Bukhari, Counter Terrorism Department SSP Yasir Afridi, SSP (Investigation) Rukhsar Mehdi, and representatives from both Inter-Services Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau.

The notification also states that the JIT convener may include any other member from Islamabad police to assist the team in gathering evidence professionally.