The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Saturday sent a letter to Jharkhand authorities to initiate an investigation over the alleged sexual abuse of minors and selling of children from the Nirmal Hriday Centre, an institution managed by the Missionaries of Charity in Ranchi.In a letter to the Jharkhand Chief Secretary, Director General, and Inspector General of Police, NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo urged them to file an FIR under the provision of the POCSO Act.He also asked them to submit an ‘action taken’ report within five days of receiving the letter.He said the Chief Welfare Committee (CWC), during a visit to Dumka on August 30, 2019, found that the minor victims accepted that they were sexually abused and recorded their statements at the request of the Ranchi District Administration.But despite their statements available on record, no action was taken by the administration under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.Subsequently, Kanoongo said, as per the preliminary ‘action taken’ report submitted in response to the summons, 13 more victims of sexual abuse had been recovered from the Nirmal Hriday institution.The NCPCR said documents seized from the institution contained information about pregnancies and sexual abuse of victims. A few of the victims were found to be minors. Eight of the minors were from the Dumka district, and their details had been shared with the Dumka administration.Expressing concerns that the seized documents might contain information about minors from other districts or states, the NCPCR stressed that the POCSO Act requires mandatory reporting of all offences under the Act and described the lack of action as a blatant violation.It was also noted that no FIR was registered under the POCSO Act, 2012, despite the availability of documents.“It is pertinent to mention here that the POCSO Act, 2012, makes reporting every offence mandatory. Therefore, this case may be termed as a fit case of a blatant violation under the POCSO Act, 20l2,” the letter said.Kanoongo said, therefore, looking into the gravity of the situation and various abnormalities, discrepancies and unsatisfactory responses from the state in a matter about sexual abuse, trafficking and selling of minors, the commission was constrained to exercise its powers under Section 15 of the CPCR Act, 2005.He said they approached the Supreme Court, which on September 24 directed the Commission to take steps to protect children in accordance by law.Given that this order was passed by the apex court, NCPCR, in its letter, requested the DGP and Chief Secretary to immediately file an FIR under the POCSO Act for two girls whose statements were recorded by the CWC.He also said that FIRs will be lodged for all identified minor victims based on the documents seized during the investigation and a report on their whereabouts will be submitted.The Commission also sought detailed report on the victims of pregnancy and sexual abuse who may belong to other states or union territories and were residing at the institution.
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