MADURAI, AUGUST 24: Madurai administration officials today said that an inquiry has been held by revenue officials into the Perayur temple ceremony in which children were buried alive for a minute to fulfil parental vows. The probe was held following instructions from the National Human Rights Commission and the Tamil Nadu government, they said.

But no one was willing to speak on why officials allowed the ceremony to proceed on Wednesday, violating an NHRC directive issued in November 1996 in which it had asked the administration to ‘‘dissuade people from following such irrational, superstitious practices’’.

Taking suo moto notice of a report published in a paper on August 13, 1995, the Commission had then sent a notice to the state and also asked the Society for Community Organisation Trust to probe it.

A four-member team, led by managing trustee A. Mahaboob Batcha, had submitted a report to the NHRC. The report had said that even though no mishaps had taken place, such a tragedy could not be ruled out.

The Commission had then asked the Collector to launch a concerted educational programme to dissuade people of the area from following such practices.

Copies of these had been sent to the state government and the Collector. But what happened on Wednesday shows that the district administration has failed to act on the NHRC directive.