Kalahandi Collector Asked To Appear Before NHRC

Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a conditional summon to Odisha’s Kalahandi Collector to appear in person over non-compliance of its direction concerning financial compensation to be provided to the family of a schoolgirl.

The school girl committed suicide after she was subjected to sexual abuse in her school run by the state government.

The Commission took it seriously as the compensation matter is pending since 2012. The Collector has not responded despite warning of coercive process u/s 13 of the PHR Act, 1993.

The instant direction came in after hearing a petition filed by rights campaigner Subash Mohapatra.

The district collector has been asked to appear before the commission on November 16.

A tribal girl aged about 13 years, who was a student of a Kanyashram in Gopalpur, Thuamul Rampur Block in Kalahandi was raped. Though the police arrested the culprit Mashu Majhi but they did not take any action against the authorities of the school.

Subsequently, the girl died in suspicious circumstances in September 2012 in the premises of the school. The authorities did not make an inquiry into the alleged incident, said Mohapatra.