NEW DELHI: Dissatisfied with the Uttar Pradesh Government's reply on the recent spate of cases of alleged abduction and killing of children in Nithari village in Noida, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday asked the State Government to explain why cases of all missing persons or children were not registered by the police.

Addressing a press conference here, Commission's Acting Chairman Justice Shivraj Patil said that the Director-General of Police, U.P., and the Chief Secretary have been directed to submit a detailed report within a month, giving the present status of CBI investigation and specifying whether cases of all the missing persons or children in Nithari village have been registered and entrusted for investigation to the CBI.

The Commission had sought a report from the State Government on January 2 but the State police chief and the Chief Secretary only stated that 19 cases were registered between December 13, 2006 and January 4 this year in connection with the missing, abducted children or adults from Nithari village.

"We want to specifically know what happened to the remaining cases. This is a very serious matter and we have sought further details from the State Government," Justice Patil told newspersons.

He said the report referred to the investigation of 19 cases having been given to the CBI, steps taken by the State Government to provide monetary and other relief to the families of victims and the steps taken by the district police to trace the missing children.

The report also dwelt upon disciplinary action taken against the erring police officers.

Justice Patil, flanked by other NHRC members, said the State Government's report failed to clearly say whether CBI investigation was limited to the 19 registered cases or covered cases of all persons reported missing in the village. He said that according to media reports, more than 38 persons or children were missing from the village on the outskirts of the capital.

Expressing serious concern over the recent phenomenon of missing children, the NHRC chief said the problem was not confined to Nithari village as similar incidents had been reported from other parts of the country as well.

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