NHRC, India takes suo motu cognizance of the reported trafficking, selling and sexual assault of a tribal girl from Odisha in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

• NHRC invoked suo motu powers on a media report of trafficking, sale and repeated sexual assault of a 17-year-old tribal girl from Dhenkanal (Odisha) in Jhansi (UP).
• Illustrates intersection of Article 23 (anti-trafficking), statutory NHRC powers under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and inter-state policing failures.
• Relevant for GS-I (tribal vulnerability), GS-II (human rights bodies, vulnerable sections) and GS-IV (police ethics).