NHRC NOTICE TO UP CS, DGP OVER SHELTER HOME ISSUE

LUCKNOW : The National Human Rights (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to the chief secretary and DGP, Uttar Pradesh over reports of 57 minor girls who were found COVID positive while five of them were pregnant and one was found HIV positive at a state run shelter home in Kanpur.

In a press statement the spokesperson of the NHRC said, the Commission took suo moto cognizance of media reports on the issue and have issued notices to chief secretary RK Tiwari and DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthi.

LUCKNOW: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to the chief secretary and DGP, Uttar Pradesh over reports of 57 girls being found Covid positive -- five of them being pregnant and one of them HIV positive -- at a state run shelter home in Kanpur.

In a press statement, spokesperson of NHRC said the commission has taken suo moto cognizance of media reports on the issue and have issued notices to chief secretary RK Tiwari and DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthi.

The girls were exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19 for some time but allegedly there was delay in taking them to hospital for the tests. The commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, were enough to prima facie believe that the public servants had failed to provide safeguard to the victim girls, the administrative officers were apparently negligent in protecting the girls’ right to life, liberty and dignity in the custody of the State, the spokesperson said.

The UP chief secretary has been told to submit a detailed report in the matter, including health status of all the girls, their medical treatment and counselling provided to the girls by the authorities. The state government is expected to order an inquiry into the matter from an independent agency. It is also expected to review the health status of the female inmates lodged in shelter homes across the state and issue suitable directives that such incidents do not happen in future, the spokesperson said.

A separate notice has also been issued to the state’s DGP calling for a report regarding registration of FIR in this matter and status of investigation. The chief secretary and DGP are expected to submit reports within four weeks, he said.

District magistrate, Kanpur Dr Brahma Deo Ram Tiwari had said that there were seven pregnant girls living in the state shelter home and five of them tested positive for Covid-19. These girls were pregnant when they were brought to the shelter home on the recommendation of the child welfare committees in different districts. Investigation under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) is going on in all these cases.

The SSP, Kanpur had said that two of the girls had come from Agra and Kannauj in December 2019.

All the girls found Covid-positive are being treated at the Kanpur Medical College. The shelter home has been sealed, and its staff quarantined, the NHRC spokesperson said.