New Delhi, 3 November

The NHRC on Tuesday said it has issued notices to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra governments and their police chiefs over reports that a large number of minor girl children are being allegedly sold for Rs 3-5 lakh by their parents to middlemen in several districts along the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Subsequently, these girls are "trafficked by middlemen" with the help of false documents showing them as their "adopted children", it said in a statement.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that a "large number of minor girl children are being sold for Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh by their parents to middlemen in several districts along the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan," it said.

On gaining adulthood, they are sold for Rs 35 lakh to Rs 40 lakh in different cities of Maharashtra allegedly for "sex trade" after changing their personal details to hide their identities, the rights panel said.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of the human rights of the victim girl children.

Therefore, it has issued notices to the chief secretaries and directors general of police of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, seeking a detailed report on it in two weeks, the statement said.

According to the report, carried on October 30, parents allegedly sell their girl child due to poverty and other reasons. The report has quoted four specific cases of such trafficked girls, it said.