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National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo, who is in Jharkhand with his team to probe the death of two minor girls in Dumka, claimed on Monday that the state government was "trying to obstruct investigations".
Kanoongo said that he had informed the government about his visit, but necessary arrangements have not been made to aid the inquiry.
A 14-year-old tribal girl, allegedly sexually exploited by a man on the pretext of marriage, was found hanging from a tree in Dumka on Friday, with her mother claiming that she was raped and killed. The accused has been nabbed.
Just days prior to that, on August 23, a 16-year-old girl was set on fire by a man "whose advances she had spurned". The girls succumbed to her injuries five days later. At least two arrests have been made in this case thus far.
"I have come to Dumka to probe two cases. The Jharkhand government was told about the visit much in advance. A team of NCPRC wanted to meet the family of the girl who was hanged after rape. The collector had give consent. After coming to the village, however, her parents could not be found," the NCPRC chairperson tweeted.
Neighbours told the NCPCR team that someone whisked them away in a car, Kanoongo stated.
"The government is very uncooperative, it is obstructing the investigation," he wrote.