Judge's wife gets bail in house help torture case

• Somia has been behind bars since her arrest last month.
• Lawyer shows picture evidence to prove Somia's "innocence".
• Court accepts Somia's bail plea against surety bonds of Rs1 lac.

ISLAMABAD: Civil judge Asim Hafeez's wife, Somia Asim, who is facing the allegations of brutally torturing her 14-year-old house help got relief on Monday, when a local court in Islamabad accepted her plea for release on bail.

Somia has been behind bars since her arrest last month after the harrowing case of inhumane treatment and physical abuse of a minor girl, Rizwana, at the former's hands surfaced on July 25.

During a hearing before additional sessions Judge Mohammad Haroon, the investigation officer, prosecutor, defence lawyer, complainant's lawyer and Rizwana's family appeared in the court.

Defence lawyer Ghulam Dastgir presented some pictures from Somia and her family's trip to northern areas, where Rizwana also accompanied them.

He contended that the bruises on Rizwana's face could be seen in the pictures as well, to prove that her wounds were not new or caused by any torture.

The argument was opposed by the complainant's lawyer Faisal Jutt.

However, the court accepted Somia's bail plea and directed her to submit surety bonds of Rs100,000 for the bail.

Meanwhile, the head of the medical board looking into Rizwana's case said that the child is still undergoing treatment at the hospital and is still unable to walk. He said that no decision had been taken regarding her head's grafting.

It may be noted that Rizwana had several major injuries including fractures and severe skin infection when she was brought to the hospital, but the most serious of them was the wounds in her head, which were "infested with maggots".

The case

The matter came to light when the teenager was shifted to a Lahore hospital with serious injuries, and her parents accused Somia of allegedly torturing their child.

The judge and his wife deny all the allegations, claiming that Somia had never beaten Rizwana and that all injuries she had were due to a skin infection caused by eating "dirt". They also got a pre-arrest bail for the suspect to avoid arrest.

Despite immediate registration of an FIR, Somia was arrested after a long wait on August 7 when a local court in the federal capital cancelled her bail.

However, she once again managed to escape incarceration as the trial court approved her request for bail today.

It may be noted that Somia's husband, Hafeez, is also required in the investigations of the case; but he hasn't appeared before the joint investigation team (JIT) probing the matter, despite several summons.