The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on March 26 issued a notice to the Bihar government over the alleged sexual assault and death of a 13-year-old girl in Darbhanga district.
The police in the jurisdiction of Vazidpur Police Station had failed to find out till the death of the rape victim that her parents and the village panchayat tried to settle the case by asking the perpetrator to pay ₹1.25 to the family.
After receiving the money, the victim’s family reportedly sent the girl to the perpetrator’s house, claiming no one else would marry her now. She had stayed with the accused for five days before being thrown out. Then, the girl’s family sent her to her elder sister’s house, where she died 16 days after she was sexually assaulted on March 1.
The police later exhumed the body of the victim and sent it for a post-mortem examination.
“The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, amount to the violation of human rights of the victim girl. Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Government of Bihar calling for a detailed report within six weeks,” a communique from the NHRC stated.
The response from the authorities was expected at the earliest but not later than six weeks.
