Overview
- The commission took suo motu cognisance of reports of increasing disappearances and poor recovery rates involving children, which it said, if accurate, raise serious human-rights concerns.
- Notices went to the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan seeking detailed accounts of cases, tracing outcomes and remedial steps.
- The NHRC also requested the National Crime Records Bureau to provide the latest statistics on missing persons in the five states within the same two-week window.
- Data cited by the panel indicate Bihar has recorded about 12,000–14,000 missing-persons cases annually since 2013, many involving children, with only around two-thirds of missing children traced.
- NCRB patterns referenced by the NHRC point to trafficking concentrations in Odisha, Bihar, Telangana and Maharashtra, with Odisha highest for minor boys and Rajasthan highest for minor girls.