A woman was taken into custody by the Karachi police on Tuesday on accusations of torturing her two minor stepdaughters, said sources. The case was reported from the city’s Malir area.

The two girls “are injured because of torture” and they are infected with different illnesses, said a Malir Police Station statement addressed to the Jinnah Hospital. The police sought a medical report from the hospital after the check-up.

The police took action on neighbours complaint.

“The biological mother of these girls has four children, including two daughters and two sons. She is divorced. The responsibility of the children was given to their father and stepmother,” one of the neighbours told Aaj News.

She alleged that the stepmother frequently detained the girls on the house’s roof.

The accused is expecting her third child, another neighbor said. She was in the custody of Malir police, but no FIR was lodged against her, sources said.

Preliminary findings from medical examinations reveal evident marks of torture on the girls’ bodies, suggesting the severity of the abuse they had.

The victims of this alleged violence are both minors, with the elder girl aged 11 and the younger one aged 9. The police investigation revealed that the accused used to torture the girls when they requested meals.

The girls were transferred to the Jinnah Hospital in wounded condition. But they have now been transferred to the National Institute of Child Health.