Beware of unregistered maids!: DHA Lahore residents falling victim to in-house crime

LAHORE: Maids working for families in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) are reportedly ‘breaking’ into houses and stealing from their employers.

Eight such incidents have been reported so far, Daily Times learnt from a brochure issued by the DHA security officials.

The brochure says that most of these maids have not been registered with DHA security officials. Following these incidents, DHA officials have asked the authority’s residents to register their employees with security officials.

Many residents said that they could not register their domestic employees since many were under the age of 18 and could therefore not be issued with computerised national identity cards. The authorities have warned residents neither to hire unregistered servants nor those without a reference. On January 7, 2008, a maid, Perveen, fled with Rs 15,000 from a house in Sector Z. The residents did not register the case with the security officials. On January 9, Rafia, a housemaid, with the help of two accomplices, held the inmates of a house in Sector Z at gunpoint and fled with jewellery and valuables.

On January 18, Nooran, a housemaid, stole money and valuables from her employer’s house in Sector AA, before being caught and handed over to the police. On January 23, Rubina, a housemaid, stole Rs 25,000 and jewellery from a house in Sector K.

On January 28, two maids, Rukhsana and Munazza, went off with jewellery from a house in Sector V. On condition of anonymity, a DHA security official said, “Robbery incidents still persist in the DHA due to non-registration of maids. About 20,000 maids work in DHA houses and we will register them soon.” He said the security officials would also issue the underage maids with DHA cards.

Source: Daily Times, 5/5/2008