Telangana chief secretary gets NHRC notice on child mortgaging

HYDERABAD: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought action taken reports (ATRs) from the chief secretaries of Odisha and Telangana within four weeks following revelations of women being forced to mortgage their children for failure to repay money taken to conduct the final rites of their husbands, the sole breadwinners of their families.

The commission issued the direction on Friday after taking cognizance of a petition filed by human rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy last month. In the complaint, he mentioned two incidents of horrific nature.

Shukadev Parabhue of Belpada block in Balangir district had gone to work at a brick kiln near Hyderabad in Telangana. He was accompanied by his wife, daughter and son. There, Shukadev fell ill and died on March 8. The owner had wanted the family to conduct the last rites near the kiln, but the wife requested that she be allowed to take the body back to the village. As Shukadev had taken 60,000 from the owner, the owner forcibly kept her 12-year-old daughter as a bonded labourer. The wife returned to her village with her six-year-old son. It was only after a few days that the Balangir district administration managed to rescue the girl from the brick kiln, said the petitioner.

In another incident, a woman from Champua in Keonjhar district was forced to mortgage two of her sons, aged 13 and 11, as she was unable to repay the loan taken to perform her husband's last rites.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought action taken reports (ATRs) from the chief secretaries of Odisha and Telangana within four weeks following revelations of women being forced to mortgage their children for failure to repay money taken to conduct the final rites of their husbands, the sole breadwinners of their families.

The commission issued the direction on Friday after taking cognizance of a petition filed by human rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy last month. In the complaint, he mentioned two incidents of horrific nature.

Shukadev Parabhue of Belpada block in Balangir district had gone to work at a brick kiln near Hyderabad in Telangana. He was accompanied by his wife, daughter and son. There, Shukadev fell ill and died on March 8. The owner had wanted the family to conduct the last rites near the kiln, but the wife requested that she be allowed to take the body back to the village. As Shukadev had taken 60,000 from the owner, the owner forcibly kept her 12-year-old daughter as a bonded labourer. The wife returned to her village with her six-year-old son. It was only after a few days that the Balangir district administration managed to rescue the girl from the brick kiln, said the petitioner.

In another incident, a woman from Champua in Keonjhar district was forced to mortgage two of her sons, aged 13 and 11, as she was unable to repay the loan taken to perform her husband's last rites.