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NHRC seeks details on Maoist child soldiers

Last Updated 23 May 2017, 20:09 IST

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday sought details from the Jharkhand government on reports of Maoists abducting minors and using them as child soldiers.

The NHRC’s notice to the chief secretary of Jharkhand and director general of police seeking a detailed report within two weeks came after it took suo motu cognisance of a news article about abduction and recruitment of children by the Maoists.

Observing that the report brought forth the “stark reality of the vulnerability” of children in remote areas of Jharkhand, the NHRC said the children were denied their fundamental rights, including their right to education, and the issues raised were a gross violation of human rights.

The NHRC asked the state government to provide details on four counts, including the police estimate of the number of children who had been recruited by the Maoists.

It also sought details of the action taken by the local administration and the police to trace such children and re-integrate them with the mainstream society.

In addition, the state government has been asked to provide details of the policy initiatives taken to educate and rehabilitate such children, and the action taken against those involved in the illegal activity.

According to the NHRC, the news article claimed that more than 1,000 children had been abducted over the past few years and deployed as foot soldiers, couriers and sentries around the Maoists’ camps in Jharkhand. It claimed that children from Lohardaga, Gumla, Latehar and Simdega, the western districts of the state bordering the Maoist strongholds in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, were easy prey.

The report claimed that child soldiers were even made to chop off a thief’s ears, and strip offenders naked and cane them.

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(Published 23 May 2017, 20:09 IST)

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