Bhubaneswar: Expressing concern over the death of a six-year-old kid during a rural road construction work in Mayurbhanj in September this year, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Mayurbhanj superintendent of police (SP) to furnish an Action Taken Report (ATR) in the issue within four weeks.
In case of failure to submit the ATR within the stipulated time period, the apex rights body shall be constrained to invoke a coercive process under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 for personal appearance of the concerned authorities, the commission said in a recent hearing.
The rights body directive came while hearing a petition (11296/IN/2019) filed by rights activist Dillip Kumar Das which was subsequently upgraded into a case (3255/18/9/2019).
The petitioner had informed the commission that the unfortunate incident dates back to September 15. “Puma Majhi, a daily wager, was working on a rural road construction project at Dumatandi village under Tiring police limits in the tribal-dominated district of Mayurbhanj while her six-year-old son— Salkhan — was napping under the shade of a tree nearby. To her ill fate, an earthmover engaged in the project accidentally crushed the child to death,” the petitioner had informed the NHRC.
The rights activist had urged the commission seeking a directive to the authorities to ensure that the victim’s family is adequately compensated.