Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh lashes out newspaper for ‘fabricated’ news about trafficking

“The manner in which the vernacular paper is publishing fabricated and frivolous series of news regarding alleged trafficking of girls of Shillai area of district Sirmaur is highly objectionable and defamatory and has hurt the sentiments of the people,” he said.

Virbhadra said headlines like “Trafficking of girls in the name of marriage” was totally deceptive and the news has deeply hurt women, especially in Shillai and Transgiri areas.

The Chairperson of Women Commission visited the area and found no truth in the allegations and in fact some marriages have taken place in normal course over a period of time outside Himachal Pradesh and those involved in the conspiracy have no right to ask why the girls of the state, including those of Sirmour, were marrying outside the state, he said.

Meanwhile, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Shillai, Vikas Shukla, who got conducted the controversial survey of girls from Shillai and trans-Giri areas married outside the state, has been shifted to Arki, official sources said.

The residents of Shillai and Paonta areas today held protests outside SDM office against the Hindi daily.

They were demanding stringent action against the newspaper for “deliberately maligning the image of the residents of Shillai area and causing irreparable loss to the reputation of the daughters of the region.”

In a memorandum submitted to the SDM, the protesters demanded that circulation of the paper be suspended in the area.

Similar protests were held in Paonta town also and people raised slogans against the paper and burnt the effigy of the editor.

When contacted, Shukla said a series of reports published by a Hindi daily has deeply hurt the sentiments of the residents of Shillai area and he has decided to summon the editor of the newspaper as per the legal provisions.

A statement issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmour, B C Badalia, late this evening, also condemned the campaign ‘Girls in Shillai area on sale’.

The allegations regarding ‘sale of girls’ and ‘girls dropouts in Shillai area’ made in the newspaper were examined by the district administration and it was found that all these allegations were false and there was no truth in them, he said.