GUWAHATI, June 7 - After investigating the death of a minor girl from Assam in mysterious circumstances in the house of an Arunachal Pradesh MLA, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has sought the exhumation and autopsy of the body and a thorough probe into the destruction of evidences and improper handling of the case.
Member of the Commission Rosy Taba, who addressed the media in Guwahati today, said that the circumstances surrounding the death of the 12-year-old, followed by a hasty funeral, point towards a possible foul play.
NCPCR, the apex statutory body for protection of child rights, took up the matter on the basis of media reports published on May 23 that reported about the death of a girl in Itanagar MLA Techi Kaso�s house in Naharlagun on May 20.
�Till the time our team reached the spot, no FIR was filed into the matter. The body was sent to the native village of the girl without any autopsy or without following proper norms. No proper photographic evidence was collected by the police and the dupatta, with which she reportedly hanged herself, also could not be found. Several other attempts to destroy the evidences were noticed by our team,� she added.
�We have issued directive to the district authorities concerned, and would wait for the autopsy report before taking further action into this matter,� she added.
After the intervention of the NCPCR and Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, a case was filed at the Naharlagun Police Station under Section 174 CrPC.
The girl�s family originally hailed from Dolahat Tea Estate of Nowboicha in Lakhimprur district, and was settled in Arunachal Pradesh for past three decades. The girl�s father worked as a watchman at the MLA�s house.
While the role of Arunachal Pradesh Police is questionable in this situation, this incident also amounts to violation of various provisions of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986, stated ASCPCR chairperson Sunita Changkakoti.
