Odisha's missing Bonda tribal boy: Amidst child trafficking suspicion child rights commission issues notice

Bonda tribal women

By A Representative
Taking cognizance of a complaint filed by Pradip Pradhan, a human rights activist, the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) has issued notice to the authorities of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Tribal School, Bhubaneswar, seeking detailed report by May 30, 2018 on a missing Bonda tribal boy, who studied in the school run by Achyut Samant, newly elected Rajya Sabha MP of thye Biju Janata Dal.
The District Child Protection Officer, Malkangiri, Superintendent of Police, SDPO and Inspector-in-Charge, Pokhariput Police station, Malkanagiri have been simultaneously asked to provide details the missing tribal boy.
The notice, issued on May 8, 2018, follows Pradhan’s complaint to the OSCPCR seeking an inquiry into the missing of the Bonda tribal child, Rama Chandra, from the KISS Tribal School, Bhubaneswar, for the last three years. He was studying in class VIII.
According to Pradhan, “Having been influenced by agents of the KISS Tribal School with assurance of free education and hostel facility, Rama Chandra’s mother sent him to the KISS Tribal School, with the great hope of educating and nourishing him as a meritorious student.”
Having failed to find her son, she filed an FIR with the Pokhariput Police Station, Malkangiri district, seeking an inquiry into her missing son. Pradhan alleges in an email alert to Counterview, KISS authorities “neglected and did not taken care of Rama Chandra properly, hence he went missing.”
He adds, “Trafficking of Rama Chandra also cannot be ruled out. KISS as institution is illegal, as it has not been registered under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.”

Pradip Pradhan

Referring to the Supreme Court case WP (crl) 102 of 2007, Pradhan quotes, apex court as directing “the Union Government and the governments of the States and Union Territories” to ensure that “the process of registration of all child care institutions is completed positively by December 31, 2017 with the entire data being confirmed and validated.”
The apex court had added, “The information should be available with all the concerned officials. The registration process should also include a data base of all children in need of care and protection which should be updated every month. While maintaining the database, issues of confidentiality and privacy must be kept in mind by the concerned authorities”.
According to Pradhan, “One needs to mention here that Bonda tribe, a most vulnerable and marginalized primitive tribal group, is residing in a small patch of Bonda Hill of Malkangiri, which is most underdeveloped and Naxal-affected district of Odisha.”
He adds, “Bonda tribes are still primitive in nature and are a deprived section of society and survive in abject poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Most of them are illiterate and deprived of school education.” The situation, he suggests, has not changed even though the State government “is undertaking a lot of special project including Bonda Development Authority for upliftment of Bonda tribes.”

Comments

Ramdas Bhatkal said…

This is shocking and needs to be investigated. From a distance, there is not much that I can do, yet in spirit I support attempts to find the missing boy.

May 14, 2018

Mamta Sahai said…

I think it will be a good idea to send this complaint to Ncpcr,and to the concerned heads at the national level......and also involve Nalsa as in our country every thing is taken lightly till we don't approch the wig wigs. Accountability is missing with all concerned agencies.

May 15, 2018

Prita Jha said…

The mother will need to file a petition in the High Court of Odisha if this is not already done- in Gujarat we had a case where the parents were distraught as they thought thier daughter had been kidnapped and taken out of state-the matter was going on for more than two years in High court but when we got involved the court ordered transfer of investigation and that did lead to the parents getting a communication from thier daughter which settled the issue for them...

May 15, 2018

Archana said…

It is indeed shocking that nothing has happened in so many years to find the child. I have been trying to follow it through website linkages but could not find much. We are a Delhi based organization and recently started engaging with the education system of Orissa.

May 15, 2018

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

Search This Blog