NHRC notice to MP govt over woman making wealth by forcing kids to beg

NEW DELHI: The NHRC has sent a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government in connection with a case in which a woman amassed wealth and bought properties by allegedly forcing her five children to beg in Indore, officials on Thursday said.

The report has been sought in four weeks and it should including care provided to the minor children as per the Juvenile Justice Act, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a statement.

The report is also expected to include the action taken to stop the recurrence of such incidents with strict enforcement of the anti-begging law of the state, it said.

The NHRC has taken “suo motu cognisance of a media report that a woman bought a plot of land, a two-storied house, a motorcycle, smartphone worth Rs 20,000 and Rs 2.5 lakh in six weeks by forcing her five children, aged 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10 to beg in Indore”, the statement said.

Reportedly, all of them were “being forced” by her to beg at different locations proceeding towards the Mahakal temple, the rights panel said.

The Commission has observed that the content of the media report, if true, amounts to a “violation of human rights”.

“The woman arrested in the instant case is reportedly a repeat offender which indicates that the authorities concerned are not vigilant due to which the young children are being victimised even by their family members,” the statement said.

“At an age, when young children have to attend schools and concentrate on their studies and careers, they are forced to adopt unethical ways of living,” it added.