A few days ago, the YSR Congress Party’s (YSRCP) youth wing posted a tweet blaming the current Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh for the disappearance of 3,000 girls from the state.
The party cited a report published in a local English daily, which stated that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had summoned Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Vijayanand to submit a factual report regarding the missing girls.
The tweet read: “While the political broker @PawanKalyan is busy spreading fake news with wrong information, 3,000 girls have gone missing in Andhra Pradesh since this feudal government @JaiTDP @JanaSenaParty took charge. On average, 8 girls go missing daily in the state (as reported by The Hans India). The NHRC has issued a conditional summons to the Chief Secretary of AP, demanding accountability.”
The YSRCP post also mentioned that the NHRC required the Chief Secretary to submit information on the missing girls by January 14, 2025, or appear before the commission on January 20, 2025.
“The NHRC acted after repeated failures from the Chief Secretary to respond, despite reminders. This grave issue highlights the lack of attention from the state government, while clowns like @PawanKalyan continue to divert focus with baseless propaganda. The safety of our daughters demands urgent action! #MissingGirlsAP,” it said.
However, a fact-check by a media house revealed that the NHRC reference pertains to incidents reported much earlier, during the YSRCP-led Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
The report cited by YSRCP was published in January 2024, well before the TDP-led NDA government came to power.
The complainant, an advocate and social activist, had brought a report to the NHRC’s notice, stating that over 3,000 girls had gone missing in Andhra Pradesh, with The Hans India noting that, on average, 8 girls went missing daily in 2022. It was also highlighted that one out of eight remained untraced.
According to the report, 3,592 cases of missing girls were recorded in Andhra Pradesh, of which 3,221 girls were recovered or traced. However, 371 girls remained unaccounted for. These cases were all related to the period of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Additionally, the report mentioned that the Additional DGP had submitted a comprehensive status report on missing children, dated June 18, 2024, covering the years 2022, 2023, and 2024.