RAWALPINDI: Army authorities have interviewed 11-year-old Kinza Bashir, a domestic employee who was allegedly physically abused by a serving army official and her husband, a doctor, who had employed her.

According to sources close to the investigation, the child spoke of her ordeal in a confidential one-on-one session and showed them marks of abuse.

Army authorities had sought her records and asked the Child Protection Bureau for an interview with the victim as one of the suspects in the case is serving as an information and computer information technology officer at General Headquarters.

The victim, who is from Faisalabad, was brought back to Rawalpindi by the police once the case came to light and moved to the Child Protection Bureau.

“Young Kinza is not going to school like the other girls staying with the Child Protection Bureau because she has only been staying here for her case,” a senior official told Dawn. He added that she is feeling well and in safe custody. Her parents have been permitted to visit her once a week.

Since one of her employers is an army officer her case was sent by the police to military authorities.

The woman’s husband was arrested by police and remanded to three-day custody. He will be produced before the court today (Tuesday). He had previously sought interim bail, and was arrested after his interim bail was rejected.

Police said the man had denied that he or his wife tortured the child, but said in a statement that she would leave the house without informing them because of which she had been slapped once or twice.

A medical examination and X-ray report have confirmed that the victim was physically assaulted. She has two fractured ribs, but no other bone injuries to her skull, shoulder or left arm; she had complained of severe pain in her arm.

The police said the couple were nominated in an FIR registered with the Airport police on a complaint by a senior Child Protection Bureau official.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2018