Cuttack: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has served notices on Odisha and Madhya Pradesh (MP) governments in connection with the trafficking of a married woman from Puri district to Guna in MP.
The rights body has asked both the governments to submit their replies within four weeks while hearing a case filed by human rights activist Jayanta Das recently.
According to the petition, Ram Krishna, a native of MP had met the woman while he was staying near Bauribasta area under Puri Sadar police limits. Taking advantage of the woman’s poor financial condition, Ram Krishna had convinced her to work in a Hyderabad-based company for a handsome remuneration.
However, Ram Krishna had taken the woman to Janada village of Guna district in MP and sold her to Dashrath Singh Yadav against Rs 55,000 without informing anything to the victim.
Yadav had forcibly married the woman and kept physical relation with her. The victim, somehow, informed the incident to her family. Soon a few relatives of the woman travelled to Guna and asked Yadav to release the victim.
The woman’s family had filed a case with Puri Sadar police after Yadav refused to release her.
The victim had lodged a complaint with state Crime Branch (CB) October 28, last year after her release from Yadav’s house under intervention from Puri Sadar police. The CB had probed the incident after registering a case under Sections 365, 366, 370 and 120 (b) of the IPC. It had arrested Ram Krishna and four residents of Puri district – Mina Das, Manorama Barik, Bidu Behera and Pravati Sahu – in connection with the case.
In his petition, Das informed the NHRC that police have failed to take action against Yadav, who had forcibly married the woman and kept physical relation with her. The petitioner also informed the NHRC that police had not opted for any medical examination of the woman soon after her release from Guna.
The petitioner had urged the NHRC to take steps for Rs 20 lakh compensation to the victim and appropriate action against Yadav.
Das also informed the NHRC that a well-oiled racket is engaged in trafficking of women from poor families Puri district to other states on the pretext of arranging jobs.
