The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports highlighting the increasing number of missing persons and the low rate of tracing them in several states, raising serious concerns about possible human rights violations.
In a statement, the Commission says it had taken note of a report indicating that between 12,000 and 14,000 missing person cases have been registered every year in Bihar since 2013, many of them involving children. However, barely two-thirds of the missing children were reportedly traced, the Commission said.
Taking note of the gravity of the issue, NHRC has issued notices to the chief secretaries and directors general of police of Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
The Commission has asked the state authorities to submit a detailed report within two weeks outlining the steps taken or proposed to address the rising number of missing persons, particularly children.
NHRC also referred to data from the national crime records bureau (NCRB), which indicates that the highest number of human trafficking cases have been registered in Odisha, Bihar, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Among these, Odisha reportedly records the highest number of cases involving trafficking of minor boys, followed by Bihar. In the trafficking of minor girls, Rajasthan has registered the maximum number of cases.
According to the media report cited by the Commission, many missing children are suspected to have been forced into begging, child labour, prostitution and other illegal activities.
NHRC says the contents of the report, if accurate, raise serious concerns regarding the violation of fundamental human rights of the victims.
The Commission also noted that despite various measures taken by state governments to address the issue, the number of missing persons continues to rise while only a portion of them are traced.
In addition to seeking reports from the five states, the Commission has also directed NCRB to provide the latest statistical data on the status of missing persons in these states.
The data will help the Commission assess the scale of the problem and evaluate the effectiveness of existing measures to trace missing persons.
NHRC says responses from state governments and the NCRB must be submitted within two weeks.
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