NHRC takes note of rising number of missing people

PTI

New Delhi

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday said it has taken cognisance of a report that of the 12,000-14,000 missing persons’ cases registered every year in Bihar since 2013, many of whom are children, “barely two-thirds of the missing children were recovered”.

The data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is believed to suggest that the maximum cases of human trafficking have been registered in Odisha, Bihar, Telangana and Maharashtra, it said.

Therefore, the rights panel has issued notices to the chief secretaries and director generals of police of Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, seeking a detailed report in two weeks, the rights panel said.

Odisha tops the list of the maximum number of minor boys trafficking cases followed by Bihar, the statement said. In the trafficking of minor girls, Rajasthan apparently has registered the maximum cases.

According to a media report carried on March 9, it is suspected that these children are forced into begging, child labour, prostitution and other illegal activities, it said.

The NHRC has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises a serious issue of human rights violations of the victims. It has also taken note of the reported concern that despite various measures taken by states, “the number of missing persons is increasing”, and only “a few of them are traced”, the statement said.

The report is expected to include the steps taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the increasing number of missing persons, especially children, the rights panel said. Further, the Commission has sought the latest statistical data from the NCRB on the status of missing persons in these states within two weeks.