Government orders probe into child sex trade

The government on Thursday ordered a probe into the report that some members of the Banchra tribe in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district were giving hormones and steroids to young girls, including one-year-olds, to push them into prostitution. Sanjib Kr Baruah reports.Case: where it stands

The government on Thursday ordered a probe into the report that some members of the Banchra tribe in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district were giving hormones and steroids to young girls, including one-year-olds, to push them into prostitution.

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The women and child development ministry asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to probe the matter, a ministry spokesperson told HT. “The NCPCR will submit its report in one week’s time,” the spokesperson said.

HT wrote on Thursday that the tribals were abducting young girls and giving them hormones to hasten growth to sell them to brothels. Twenty-one girls were rescued during a series of police raids on brothels in the district.

The National Human Rights Commission, too, issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary and police chief, calling for detailed reports in four weeks, a release on the rights watchdog’s website said.