NHRC issues Notice to DGP, Andhra Pradesh & Principal Secretary, <br> Health , IG(Prisons), Maharashtra

New Delhi, February 7, 2007

The National Human Rights Commission has sent a notice to the DGP, Andhra Pradesh on a news report which said that the State Police had been taking missing children complaints very lightly. Calling it violation of Human Rights of the children, the Commission has given four weeks time to the DGP to provide a factual report.
The Commission's move comes following a press report, which appeared in "Deccan Herald" on January 12, 2007 and said that as many as 3,000 pending cases of missing children are lying with various police stations across the State and majority of the missing children are girls. The report also said that the police rarely puts out notice of missing children on the pretext that they are too expensive and sometimes do not register cases saying the children are delinquent and would return home of their own.
The report also highlighted that Child Right Activists in the State are 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 has already reported that 2079 children are missing in Telangana region and 1016 children from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions in 2006. The report also said that the number of missing could be higher as not all are reported to the police. The report further said that 1023 cases of missing children in Hyderabad since 2004 have 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 organization 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.
The Commission also took notice of a news report which said that 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"(DNA), Mumbai on January 18, 2007 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 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 cheated case connived with senior doctors of this hospital to avoid going back to jail.

Taking suo-motu cognizance of the news report, the Commission said that it is a serious issue of corruption and negligence on the part of public servants. The Commission has directed that a copy of the news report be sent to the Principal Secretary, Public Health and IG (Prisons), Maharashtra for a factual report within four weeks.

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