NHRC Intervention Case: NHRC Intervention Case: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recently took suo motu (on its own motion) cognisance of a media report about a minor boy from Bihar’s Kishanganj who was forced into bonded labour after being separated by his father at Bahadurgarh Railway Station in Haryana.
Reportedly, the boy stepped off the train to fetch water at the Railway Station but could not board it again to be with his father due to the heavy crowd. Thereafter, he missed the train and, for eight months, suffered the ordeal before being rescued and returned home with his left elbow severed.
The NHRC issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Haryana as well as the Commissioner of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh and the District Magistrate, Kishanganj, Bihar.
“The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise a serious issue of human rights violation. Therefore, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Haryana as well as the Commissioner of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh and the District Magistrate, Kishanganj, Bihar. The response is expected from the authorities within two weeks,” the NHRC press release dated January 15 said.
The NHRC also directed the authorities to inform whether any compensation has been paid and a disability certificate issued or not to enable the victim to get the benefits of the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act, 2016.
‘Earnest and sincere’
In a related development, the State Human Rights Commission of Haryana commended the police’s investigation for their “earnest and sincere” efforts in locating the whereabouts of the perpetrator who allegedly forced a minor boy into labour and abandoned him after his hand was severed in a fodder-cutting engine machine.
The Commission had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident based on a news report in TheIndian Expressfrom August.
Chairperson Justice Lalit Batra and other members of the body, earlier in January, found that the 16-year-old boy was allegedly found by the accused, Anil Kumar, 28, on the Bahadurgarh Railway Station alone when he decided to keep him with the “intention of confining him” and forcing him to work at his dairy.
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Kumar was subsequently booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, for offences including kidnapping, causing grievous hurt, illegal confinement and forcing a child into labour.
“We have gone through the..Police report and observe that Inspector Satya Parkash… has made earnest and sincere efforts to locate the whereabouts of the culprit,” the order passed on January 17 read.
Background
- The police report placed before the commission stated that Kumar had confessed that he noticed the boy crying at the Bahadurgarh Railway Station at night in May 2025. He later found that the boy was separated from his family and had neither a ticket nor money.
- The accused reportedly stated that he decided to keep the boy for work at his dairy and, taking advantage of the situation, brought the boy on his bike to his dairy and engaged him in cattle-related work.
- It was further pointed out by the accused that the minor was made to graze buffaloes in the forest during the daytime.
- The accused did not allow the minor to go anywhere, keeping a strict watch, but on one occasion, the boy tried to escape, but was later confined by him.
- It is further reported that after about two months, while the boy was cutting fodder with a machine, his left hand got caught in the machine and was severed up to the elbow.
- The accused admitted to throwing the fodder, along with the boys’ severed hand pieces, into the Yamuna River at a place away from his house.
- It was also confessed by Kumar that he did not provide any medical treatment to the boy and only gave him some medicines at home. However, the minor did not recover as the wound was very serious.
- Subsequently, the accused decided to abandon the boy, fearing police suspicion and left him in a deserted condition between villages near Haryana.
- The commission noted that the accused gave the boy Rs 10,000 with the promise of giving more money later.
Findings
- The police report stated that the accused voluntarily disclosed every detail while in police custody, without any fear, inducement or pressure.
- The accused, who had studied up to Class 5–6, was engaged in a dairy business in Uttar Pradesh, where he has several cows and buffaloes and sells milk.
- Kumar employed workers to take care of his business and had taken the minor for the same.
- The police officer concerned travelled to far-off places in Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to locate the site of the incident.
- Inspector Satya Parkash recommended for an appropriate commendation under applicable rules and policy, pointing out that he has investigated in an “exemplary manner”.
- The state police are directed to expedite the investigation and submit further progress reports in the matter one week before the next date of hearing.
Advocate Yogesh Parshad, the advocate appearing for the minor, while talking with The Indian Express, said that the definition of “bonded labour” is “very vast” and in cases of forced and bonded labour, the victims go through mental and physical bondage where they are forced to work with no money.
He mentioned that no release certificate has yet been issued by the authority concerned and emphasised that the sections of “trafficking and bonded labour” are yet to be included in the case.
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“The fight against bonded labour is a long battle, but compensating the victim for their misery provides some relief,” Parshad added.
Parshad alo said that since the NHRC had “taken suo moto cognisance” of the case, it could direct the authority concerned to declare the minor as “bonded labourer” and initiate the appropriate procedure.
The matter would come up before the state human rights commission on March 17.
