The National Human Rights Commission today found fault with the response of a senior Uttar Pradesh government official who "laughed away" media queries on four suicides in a family, and asked the state Chief Secretary to submit a report within four weeks.
Taking a suo motu cognisance of media reports, the rights panel has condemned the behaviour of the then Uttar Pradesh Home Secretary R N Upadhyay.
Last month, Upadhyay had stirred a row after he rebuffed a reporter's query about the deaths of four members of the family in a lighter vein, saying "birth is the reason behind the death."
Describing the comment as "utterly insensitive" to human dignity, the NHRC has asked the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report on the issue in four weeks.
The incident relates to the suicidal deaths of four persons, including a man and his three children, in Sonebhadra district on May 22.
