NHRC takes suo motu cognisance of Odisha family's head tonsure after inter-caste marriage

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that the family of a Scheduled Tribe woman was boycotted socially by the villagers after she married a Scheduled Caste man in Odisha.

Reportedly, the villagers demanded a purification ritual if the family of the woman wanted to be accepted back into the community and were threatened with an indefinite boycott in case they refused to comply with the ritual.

The family members of the woman succumbed to the diktat of the villagers, and as a part of the ritual, the heads of 40 members of her family were tonsured.

The incident was reported from Baiganguda village of the Kashipur block of Rayagada district.

Taking note of the news report, the apex human rights body said the contents of the press report, if true, raise a serious violation of the human rights of the victims.

After a video of the family members sitting in a field with their heads shaved went viral on social media, the local administration ordered a detailed probe into the matter. A block-level official was sent to the village to investigate the incident.

The NHRC issued a notice to the Odisha Chief Secretary and called for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, is an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.

The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.

--IANS

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