Rajasthan ‘Girls Auction’: CM Gehlot Says No One Will Be Spared; NCPCR Chief to Visit Affected Villages

After reports of girls in Rajasthan being auctioned off on stamp papers emerged, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo on Friday said he would visit the villages on November 7 and meet families there.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said no one would be spared and assured a thorough investigation into the matter. “We have received this information. Teams have been deployed to investigate everything. We will make sure a proper probe is done. No one will be spared,” ANI quoted him as saying.

NCPCR chairperson Kanoongo also said that the matter will be investigated to find those involved in the nexus. “On 7 November, I will visit the village affected by trafficking, meet affected families and try to know who all are involved in this nexus. We will see that nexus gets banned and the accused is punished.”

“Today we’ll serve notice. It’s clear that govt officials & politicians are involved. Without political & administrative support, child trafficking of this kind cannot happen in an organized way,” Kanoongo said.

The development comes after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Rajasthan government over reports that girls are “being auctioned on stamp paper” in half a dozen districts of the state and the refusal thereof is resulting in the “rape of their mothers to settle financial disputes on the diktats of caste panchayats”.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report, it said in a statement.

The chief secretary of Rajasthan and the state’s director general of police (DGP) have been asked to respond to the commission within four weeks.

Citing a media report, the NHRC said that whenever there is a dispute between the two parties particularly involving financial transactions and loans, girls aged between eight years and 18 years are “auctioned to recover money”.

“A media report said that after being auctioned, these girls are sent to UP, MP, Mumbai, Delhi and even foreign countries and subjected to physical abuse, torture and sexual assault in slavery. If true, the contents of the report amount to human rights violations,” the NHRC said.

The commission has asked for a detailed report from the chief secretary of Rajasthan in the matter, along with a report on what action has been taken, measures already taken and if not, proposed to be taken to prevent such incidents.

The NHRC said the report must contain how the state government is ensuring the functions of the Gram Panchayat, as per the constitutional provisions or Panchayati Raj law to eradicate the caste-based system impinging the human rights and the right to dignity of girls and women in the state.

A notice has also been issued to the Rajasthan DGP to submit a detailed report mentioning the initiation of criminal prosecution against the perpetrators of such crimes, the NHRC said.

It said the report must also contain the status of cases, including the registration of FIRs, charge-sheet, arrest, if any, in such incidents and the mechanism initiated to apprehend the people involved in such systematic crimes of flesh trade in the state.

“The DGP’s report must also mention steps being taken or proposed to be taken against the public servant(s), who purported to have neglected perpetually prevention of such incidents,” the NHRC said.

The NHRC also said that it has asked its special rapporteur, Umesh Sharma, to visit and inspect the affected areas within Rajasthan and submit a comprehensive report on the incidents noted and about the prevailing practice there, within three months.

(With PTI inputs)

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