IEP New Delhi, October 27, 2022
The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that in a half dozen districts of Rajasthan, the girls are sold on Stamp Paper and if not, their mothers are subjected to rape on the diktats of cast panchayats for the settlement of disputes. Reportedly, whenever there is a dispute between the two parties particularly involving financial transactions and loans etc, the girls aged between 8-18 are auctioned to recover money. These girls are being sent to U.P., M.P., Mumbai, Delhi and even foreign countries and subjected to physical abuse, torture and sexual assault in slavery. The media reports have documented the ordeal of many victims of such horrendous crimes. The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, amount to human rights violations of the victims of the such abominable practice. Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan calling for a detailed report in the matter, along with an action taken report, qua measures already taken and if not, proposed to be taken to prevent such gory incidents. The Report must also 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 Director General of Police, Rajasthan to submit a detailed report mentioning the initiation of criminal prosecution against the perpetrators of such crime and their abettors/sympathizers. It 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 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 response from both the Chief Secretary and DGP is excepted within four weeks. The Commission, in the meanwhile, has also asked its Special Rapporteur, Mr. Umesh Kumar Sharma to visit and inspect the affected areas, within the State of Rajasthan, and submit a comprehensive report on the incidents noted about and the prevailing practice in the area, at the earliest, preferably, not later than three months. According to the media report, carried on 26th October, 2022, the Caste Panchayats in Rajasthan are committing this crime like Syria and Iraq where the girls are enslaved. Reportedly, in Bhilwada, whenever there is any dispute between the two parties, they instead of going to the police, approach the Caste Panchayats for its settlement. It becomes the starting point of making the girls slave, if they are not sold, their mothers are ordered to be raped. The news report further reveals that in order to pay off Rs. 15 lakh dept a Caste Panchayat force a man to sell his sister first and even after this when the debt was not cleared, he was forced to sell his 12 year old daughter. The buyer purchased the girl for Rs. 8 lakh. Thereafter, all the five sisters became slave but still their father could not pay off his debt. In another incident a man was forced to sell his house and further take a loan of Rs. 6 lakh for the treatment of his wife, who later died, he take Rs. 6 lakh more for the treatment of his mother. In order to settle the loan, he sold his small daughter for Rs. 6 lakh to some people, who took her to Agra. She was sold three times and became pregnant four times
