Auction of girls in Rajasthan: State women commission chief chairs meeting with officials
Oct 29, 2022
Bhilwara (Rajasthan) [India], October 29 : The chairperson of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Sangeeta Beniwal on Saturday held a meeting at the Collectorate in Bhilwara following reports of girls auctioned on stamp papers in the area.
The District Collector, Superintendent of Police, and other officials were present for the meeting.
"I came to know from DSP and Collector that this case is from 2019. At that time, police presented a challan of 25 people in court. Out of 6 girls, 4 have been rehabilitated & 2 are in girls' homes as they're from other states. I'll reach them soon and get complete information," said RSCPCR chief, Sangeeta Beniwal.
Earlier, Rajasthan, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that the Congress party had exposed such cases which had been happening during the previous regime of the BJP in the state.
"The incident happened in 2005 when BJP was in power. In 2019, we came and exposed it. ...21 accused were arrested, three died and one is absconding. Two children died, and the rest went to their homes. It was turned into national news," Gehlot said addressing a press conference here.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Commission for Women (NCW), the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the Rajasthan State Commission for Women (RSCW) have all sought reports into the allegations.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal had also written to Gehlot seeking action against the culprits for auctioning of girls on stamp papers to settle disputes over loan repayments in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan.
"It is reported in the newspaper that girls as young as 8 years old are being openly auctioned on a stamp paper in over half a dozen districts of the state. The report has stated that whenever there is a dispute between two parties particularly involving financial transactions and loans, people approach caste-based panchayats to settle the matter, the DCW chief wrote.
"These panchayats settle financial disputes and recover the money by auctioning young girls belonging to the lender families. The girls are then sent to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Delhi and even abroad and subjected to physical abuse, torture and sexual assault. If the families refuse to sell their girls, their mothers are subjected to rape on the diktats of the local caste panchayats!," Maliwal's letter read.
