NEW DELHI: The NHRC on Wednesday said it has issued notice to the Odisha government over reports that the family of a woman was allegedly subjected to a social boycott by villagers after her marriage to a man from a different caste in Rayagada district.
The villagers reportedly demanded a "purification ritual" if the family of the woman wanted to be accepted back into the community.
They were threatened with an "indefinite boycott" in case they refused to comply with the ritual, the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement.
The NHRC has taken "suo motu cognisance of a media report that the family of a woman from a Scheduled Tribe community was subjected to a social boycott by the villagers after her marriage to a man belonging to a Scheduled Caste in Rayagada district of Odisha," it said.
The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of violation of the human rights of the victims.
Therefore, it has issued a notice to the chief secretary of the government of Odisha, seeking a detailed report in two weeks.
According to the media report carried on June 21, the members of the family of the woman reportedly succumbed to the diktat of the villagers, and as a part of the ritual, the "heads of 40 members of her family were tonsured", the statement said.
In a separate statement, the NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that "a 17-year-old boy, lodged in a government-run juvenile home in Majnu ka Tila area of Delhi, died due to injuries inflicted by two of his fellow inmates".
The physical assault reportedly happened on June 17.
He was rushed to a hospital, where the doctors declared him dead, it said. The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises a serious violation of the human rights of the victim. Therefore, it has issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary and the commissioner of police, seeking a detailed report in three weeks, the statement said.
The report is expected to include the inquest and postmortem examination reports along with the final cause of death, as well as the magisterial inquiry report.
In another statement on Wednesday, the NHRC said it has taken "suo motu cognisance of a media report revealing the death of three prisoners in custody of the state, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, one after the other on 15th and 16th June".
Reportedly, a male doctor and a woman prisoner lodged in the district jail died due to illness, whereas another lodged in the Central Jail of Varanasi died due to heart attack, it said.
The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of violation of human rights.
Therefore, it has issued notices to the director general of prisons and the commissioner of police, Varanasi, seeking a detailed report in two weeks, the statement said.
The report is expected to include the inquest and postmortem details, along with initial health screening reports of all three prisoners as well as the magisterial inquiry report, it said.