"In the case of alleged sexual exploitation of minors in Chitrakoot (UP) mines, the NCPCR intervened and sought a report from the concerned District Magistrate and requested the UPSCPCR (UP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights) to visit the spot," the NCPCR said in a tweet.

A media report has claimed that during the coronavirus crisis, a case of sexual exploitation of minor girls in the Chitrakoot mines has come to light. Child rights NGO, Save The Children, said the case highlights how children are forced into work, face sexual exploitation and how this has exacerbated during COVID-19 times. 

"There is an immediate need to provide not only economic support to the children and their family members but also psychological care and support for these girls, to overcome the trauma due to the worst forms of abuse that they have experienced," the child rights NGO said in a statement.