E-Paper
Rajasthan auctioning row| Police strict towards atrocities against women: DGP
The news of the auctioning of girls in Bhilwara came to light after the Congress-led Rajasthan government received a notice from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday.
Amid the intensifying row over reports of girls being auctioned on stamp papers in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, the state's director general of police (DGP) ML Lather said on Saturday that the police is strict towards atrocities against women.
"The media has been told about two victim girls and a case was registered in the year 2019 in relation to the incident with both the girls," the DGP told news agency ANI, adding a case was registered at the Hanuman Nagar police station, Bhilwara under various sections of IPC, POCSO Act, JJ Act and IT Act.
The top police official also said that in 2019, Operation Gudiya was run in the district in connection with the sale and purchase of girls.
Also Read| ‘Officials and politicians involved’: Child rights chief on trafficking reports
The news of the auctioning of girls in Bhilwara came to light after the Congress-led Rajasthan government received a notice from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday. The NHRC asked the state's chief secretary to provide a detailed report on the matter.
“The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India has taken suo moto 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,” the NHRC notice read.
The notice added that these girls were being sent to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Delhi and even foreign countries and subjected to physical abuse, torture and sexual assault in slavery.
Apart from the NHRC, the National Commission for Women (NCW), the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the Rajasthan State Commission for Women (RSCW) also sought reports from the Rajasthan government.
The NCPCR and the NCW will be sending teams to Bhilwara to investigate the matter.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan has slammed the state government over the auctioning of girls, saying such instances reminded one of the Taliban. Hitting back at the BJP, the Congress said the state government takes any crime against women seriously.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who has come under fire, has assured a proper investigation into the matter. On Saturday, Gehlot said that Congress exposed such cases that had been happening during the previous regime of the BJP in Rajasthan.
