PURI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday issued bailable warrants against the Puri collector and TPCODL CEO for failing to comply with its repeated directives in a case involving a six-year-old boy who lost his hand due to electrocution.
The incident took place around three years ago, when the boy, then three years old, came in contact with an open transformer while studying in the anganwadi centre of Sorisiapada village under Puri’s Gop block. The kid suffered critical injuries and his hand had to be amputated during treatment.
The matter was placed before the NHRC in its Bhubaneswar camp court on July 21, during which the commission directed TPCODL to pay `2 lakh as interim compensation to the child within 15 days and submit a compliance report. But when it didn’t receive the reports within the given period, the commission sent a reminder to the Puri district magistrate and TPCODL CEO on September 15. However, no response was received from them.
“The commission takes serious note of the non-responsive attitude of the district magistrate, Puri and CEO, TPCODL. Their conducts are indicative of willful disobedience of the orders passed by this commission,” stated the NHRC in its order. The commission directed the chief secretary of Odisha to arrest the district magistrate of Puri and TPCDOL CEO and ensure their presence before it on January 14, 2026, along with the reports.
The warrants require the officials to be released on bail of `5,000 each, with a surety of an equal amount, after furnishing an undertaking to appear before the commission on January 14. The NHRC has offered a relief clause, stating that the warrants will not be enforced if the compensation is duly paid and compliance proof submitted by January 7, 2026.
The commission has ordered that its directions be communicated personally to the authorities concerned and has listed the matter for next hearing on January 14, 2026.