Bonded Labourers Rescued
Published on February 13, 2014 in The Hindu
View ArticleAs many as 38 persons were rescued from alleged bonded labour from a brick factory in Bagalur here on Monday evening.
The labourers, hailing from Bargarh and Balangir districts in Odisha, comprised families, including eight children aged between two and 10 years.
Raid on factory
After being tipped off about the alleged bonded labour by the NGO International Justice Mission, officials of the Revenue Department, police and the tahsildar supervised by the Deputy Commissioner (Bangalore Urban) G.C. Prakash conducted the raid on the SNB Factory and rescued them.
Officials said they had been brought to the city through a middle man who had lured them on a contract for about three months with the offer of Rs. 15,000.
However, they were being paid only Rs. 400 per week for basic necessities.
“While the factory owner claimed he had given the money to the agent, it had never reached the labourers. The agent seems to have taken a huge chunk of the amount,” said a member of the rescue team.
The Yelahanka police have arrested the factory owner Narayana Shetty who has been remanded in judicial custody and has been booked under the Bonded Labour Act.