NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo, who is in Jharkhand with his team to probe two minor girls' death in Dumka, claimed on Monday that the state government was "trying to obstruct investigations".
Kanoongo said that he had informed the government about the visit, but necessary arrangements have not been made to aid the inquiry.
A 14-year-old tribal girl, allegedly sexually exploited by a man on the pretext of marriage, was found hanging from a tree in Dumka on Friday, with her mother claiming that she was raped and killed. The accused has been nabbed.
Just days prior to that, on August 23, a 16-year-old girl was set on fire by a man "whose advances she had spurned". The girl succumbed to her injuries five days later. At least two arrests have been made in this case thus far.
"I have come to Dumka to probe two cases. The Jharkhand government was told about the visit much in advance. A team of NCPRC wanted to meet the family of the girl who was hanged after rape. The collector had give consent… After coming to the village, however, her parents could not be found," the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) tweeted.
Neighbours told the NCPCR team that someone whisked them away in the car, Kanoongo stated.
"The government is very uncooperative… It is obstructing the investigation," he wrote.
Published 05 September 2022, 10:35 IST