NHRC issues notice to DGP Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi, Feb 7 (UNI) The National Human Rights Commission today sought a reply from Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, over a news report that said the state police has been taking missing children complaints very lightly.

Calling it violation of human rights of the children, the commission sent notice to the DGP, giving them four weeks time to provide a factual report.

The commission's move came following a press report that appeared in 'Deccan Herald' on January 12, saying as many as 3,000 pending cases of missing children were lying with various police stations across the state and majority of the missing children were girls.

The report also said the police rarely put out notice of missing children on the pretext that they were too expensive and sometimes did not register cases saying the children were delinquent and would return home on their own.

The report also highlighted that child right activists in the state were demanding the government to disclose the status of these cases of missing children and direct the police (Anti-Trafficking Police) to trace them.

An NGO had already reported that 2,079 children were missing in Telangana region and 1,016 children from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions in 2006.

The report also said the number of missing could be higher as not all were reported to the police.

The report further said investigation in 1,023 cases of missing children in Hyderabad since 2004 had not progressed.

The NGO also pointed out at the lack of communication between police stations. Citing a case of missing girl who was rescued and put in a children's home, the organisation said the girl's family kept looking for her despite the girl having been recovered by the police four months ago. She was united with the family after media intervention.

Meanwhile, the commission also took notice of a news report which said prisoners of Thane Central Jail and Kalyan's Adharwadi Jail prefer to stay in Thane Civil Hospital than in prison.

The report which appeared in 'Daily News&Analysis', Mumbai on January 18 said this was happening by paying a bribe of Rs 10,000 to some doctors and staff of the said hospital.

The report also cited two instances where a former Forest Minister and a former Additional Chief Secretary, both were ordered imprisonment but spent a major period of their term in the hospital.

In another case, a suspended Police Inspector and his wife who were involved in a cheating case connived with senior doctors of the hospital to avoid going back to jail.

Taking suo-motu cognisance of the news report, the commission said this was a serious issue of corruption and negligence on the part of public servants.

The commission had directed that a copy of the news report be sent to the Principal Secretary Public Health and Inspector General (Prisons) Maharashtra for a factual report within four weeks.

UNI