KATHMANDU, August 2

The National Human Rights Commission has said that its serious attention was drawn towards the murder of a 10-year-old boy at Marchahawa of Kudiya in Nawalparasi district.

The boy was killed slitting his throat in the name of black magic on July 23. The NHRC said it was a heinous crime to murder Jeevan Kohar of Marchahawa in the name of ‘offering to god’ for the treatment of ill son of Harijan Kodai. The NHRC drew the attention of the government to take prompt action against those involved in the crime and to provide compensation to the victim’s family. It said the act of killing the boy in the name of making an offering to the god made it clear that extreme superstition still existed in the country and it was against the rights of all children to life mentioned in Article 6, 8 and 27 of the Convention on the Rights of Children.

The NHRC also stressed that the government should create awareness on different issues of the Convention for the protection and promotion of children’s rights. A press release issued by the spokesperson for the NHRC, Mohana Ansari, states that attention of all bodies concerned were called for the timely reforms in the laws and prevention of such crimes.