The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of reports about a pregnant woman being beaten and paraded naked in the village by her family members in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan. The video of the incident also went viral on social media which has sparked furore among people across all walks of life.
According to reports, the woman had gone with a man to a nearby village from where her family members brought her back and subjected her to inhuman treatment. The victim could be heard begging for help, but people chose to make videos of her instead of coming forward for help.
The Commission has observed that the incident raises serious issues regarding the violation of the victim’s human rights. Accordingly, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police, Rajasthan, calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks, a communiqué from the NHRC said.
The Commission has asked the State government to include the action taken against the perpetrators and the status of the investigation being conducted after registration of FIR in the matter. The Commission has also sought the details of the health status of the victim woman and compensation, if any, provided to her by the administration.
On Sunday, the National Commission for Women (NCW) also took cognisance of the incident. The NCW said it took cognisance of the ‘distressing incident’ after coming across a post on X (formerly Twitter), talking about the woman in Pratapgarh district being “subjected to molestation and public humiliation as she was forcibly stripped, with the perpetrators recording this horrendous act”.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Commission said its chief Rekha Sharma has “instructed the state’s DGP to promptly arrest the culprits and invoke necessary IPC provisions”. “We demand a comprehensive report within 5 days.”
Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met with the victim of the Pratapgarh incident, and announced financial assistance of ₹10 lakh and a government job for the woman.
The Chief Minister also said that a Special Investigation Team has been formed for the investigation and a total of 11 people have been arrested in this regard
