Kendrapara: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has been informed that the ‘The Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme, 2017′ was notified in the official gazette dated March 31, 2017.
The NHRC was also told that anti-human trafficking units have been constituted, and that a police officer has been designated as Child Welfare Officer in all police stations. Juvenile Police Units have also been set up in all districts of the state.
A Special Secretary filed a detailed report regarding this running into four pages with the NHRC.
The SP, CID-CB, Cuttack, has taken many steps to deal with the trafficking of children. The state authorities informed the NHRC that the steps were taken after the issue of summons in a 2016 case of poor children being exploited sexually, physically and mentally by a woman who was a former model.
Drawing the attention of the NHRC, Radhakanta Tripathy, SC advocate and rights activist, informed the Commission that Narayan Dash, Bariguda, Ganjam, had kidnapped an eight-year-old girl from her village while she was attending a festival on the occasion of Kartika Purnima.
Narayan took the girl to Burupada and sexually exploited her. The next day he sent her for begging. He removed the ear tops of the girl and sold them for Rs 2,000 to a jewellery shop and purchased a mobile phone.
The NHRC was also told that a former model was using minors from a Bhubaneswar slum for a begging racket and was extorting money from them.
Eight women were charged with kidnapping children and forcing them into begging at Bhubaneswar. These women were also using some children for begging claiming to be deaf, dumb and physically-challenged to gain the sympathy of railway passengers.
Tripathy alleged that it was a failure of the state government as children were being used for begging, sexually abused and for selling narcotics.
Tripathy requested that the issue be investigated and the secretary, women and child development department be asked to take measures for the arrest of the criminals, and that all children should be compensated and rehabilitated.
After directions from the NHRC, the DCP said an eight-year-old child was rescued by an NGO while he was begging at the Bhubaneswar Railway Station pretending to be deaf and dumb.
He was produced before the CWC where he said that his father A Krishana, mother K Basanti and K Manju were kidnapping children and using them for begging. After investigations a charge sheet was filed against the eight accused.
The report of the Ganjam SP stated that Tuna Pradhan of Kaudia village in Ganjam district had filed a missing complaint regarding his minor daughter Trisharani Pradhan, 8, from the village Siva Temple November 25, 2015 at around 7 pm while she was witnessing the Yatra and a case was registered.
During the probe, the minor girl was rescued by GRP Berhampur from the railway station. The accused confessed that he had sold the gold ring and ear tops of the girl at a jewellery shop.
The IO submitted a charge sheet in court under Sections 363, 363A, 369, 370(4), 376(2)(i)(n), 392 of IPC and the Pocso Act.
The NHRC observed that the trafficking of children is endemic in Odisha. The DGP was asked to submit a report about the steps taken by the police to deal with the problem.
The NHRC had specifically asked in how many districts anti-human trafficking units were functional. It also asked whether in police stations an officer not below the rank of ASI has been designated as Child Welfare Police Officer to deal with children in coordination with NGOs.
The commission also asked whether the Odisha Government had constituted juvenile police units in each district as per Section 107 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
As per Section 107 Sub Section (2) the Special Juvenile Police unit must be headed by a police officer not below the rank of DySP and must have all officers designated under sub section (1), i.e. all Child Welfare Police Officers and two social workers.
The NHRC also asked about the strength of anti-human trafficking units in districts.
The DGP was asked to submit a detailed report on this within 12 weeks. Since the report was not filed by the authority, a reminder was issued September 12, 2017 and a summons was directed to be issued to the concerned authority September 14, 2018 to file the report on the matter.
The matter regarding the sexual exploitation of kids and criminals forcing children to beg was placed before the camp sitting at Bhubaneswar in the second week of January, 2017.
PNN
