New Delhi, March 13, 2026
Taking note of media reports on missing person cases, the NHRC has issued notices to the Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks, an official said on Friday.
The report is expected to include the steps taken/ proposed to deal with the increasing number of missing persons, especially children, said the official in a statement.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also sought the latest statistical data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on the status of missing persons in these states within two weeks.
The Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that of the 12,000 to 14,000 missing person cases registered every year in Bihar since 2013, many of which are children, barely two-thirds of the missing children were recovered.
Reportedly, the NCRB suggests that maximum cases of human trafficking have been registered in Odisha, Bihar, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Odisha tops the list of the maximum number of minor boys trafficking cases, followed by Bihar.
Reportedly, in the trafficking of minor girls, Rajasthan has registered the maximum cases. According to the media report, carried on March 9, 2026, it is suspected that these children are forced into begging, child labour, prostitution and other illegal activities.
The Commission has observed that the “contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of human rights violations of the victims”.
The NHRC has also taken note of the reported concerns that, despite various measures taken by states, the number of missing persons is increasing, and a few of them have been traced.
In a separate case, the Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that the lack of proper medical care for the mother and her baby during pre and post-delivery led to the death of her newborn at Chakradharpur Sub-Divisional Hospital in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
The NHRC has issued notices to the Secretary, Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Ranchi and Deputy Commissioner, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
Reportedly, the father was forced to carry the infant’s body in a cardboard box to Bangrasai village after being denied an ambulance by the hospital on March 7.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the victim.(Agency)
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