The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought an action-taken report (ATR) from the Environment and Forests Secretary over the death of a tribal Marianus Topno (48) before his minor daughter Nirmala due to irrational act of the department.
The apex human rights panel registered the case filed by rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy and issued the notice. The petitioner alleged that Nirmala’s father Marianus died while joining in a campaign initiated by the Environment and Forest Department at Biramitrapur town in Sundargarh district on November 13, 2013.
The petitioner said Nirmala has been shaken by the death of her father. Marianus, a native of adjacent Sialjor village in Simdega district of Jharkhand, was a welder by profession, had settled at Pograposh under Raiboga panchayat in Sundargarh district with his two children and wife Salmi Topno.
The petitioner further alleged that even the department had also engaged Nirmala in life threatening exercise forgetting she is a minor and employing her amounting to practice of child labour. He requested the NHRC to pay compensation to the bereaved family, besides ensuring free education to Nirmala and a Government job to one of the members of the family.