New Delhi, March 13 – In response to media reports on missing person cases, the NHRC has issued notices to the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, requesting a detailed report on the matter within two weeks, an official said on Friday.
The report is expected to include the steps taken or proposed to address the increasing number of missing persons, particularly children, the official stated.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also sought the latest statistical data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on the status of missing persons in these states within two weeks.
The Commission has taken note of a media report that of the 12,000 to 14,000 missing person cases registered every year in Bihar since 2013, many of which involve children, only two-thirds of the missing children have been recovered.
According to reports, the NCRB suggests that the maximum cases of human trafficking have been registered in Odisha, Bihar, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
Odisha tops the list of the maximum number of minor boys trafficking cases, followed by Bihar.
According to reports, in the trafficking of minor girls, Rajasthan has registered the maximum cases. According to a media report on March 9, 2026, it is suspected that these children are being forced into begging, child labor, prostitution, and other illegal activities.
The Commission has observed that "if the contents of the news report are true, they raise a serious issue of human rights violations of the victims."
The NHRC has also taken note of the reported concerns that, despite various measures taken by states, the number of missing persons is increasing, and some have been traced.
In a separate case, the Commission has taken note of a media report that the lack of proper medical care for the mother and her baby during pre and post-delivery led to the death of her newborn at the Chakradharpur Sub-Divisional Hospital in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
The NHRC has issued notices to the Secretary, Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Ranchi, and the Deputy Commissioner, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand, requesting a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
According to reports, the father was forced to carry the infant's body in a cardboard box to Bangrasai village after being denied an ambulance by the hospital on March 7.
The Commission has observed that "if the contents of the news report are true, they raise a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the victim."