Bengaluru: Twelve bonded labourers were rescued from two sericulture units in Chikkaballapura where they were allegedly confined for over 10 years.
The joint rescue operation was carried out by the Chikkaballapura district administration, the Sidlaghatta town police and Labour Department along with the help of NGO International Justice Mission.
The Sidlagatta police have registered a case under various sections of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, Section 370 (Trafficking in Persons) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. They have now launched a manhunt for the accused brothers Imtiyaz and Khwaja, who are absconding.
The case came to light when two labourers escaped from one of the units earlier. Seven people from Bengaluru Urban and Rural were rescued from the first factory and five people from Ramanagara from the second factory.
In the first factory, Vivek, a 26-year-old worker, spent 10 years in bondage to pay off a debt of Rs 40,000 given to his parents 10 years ago. His parents also worked at the factory for four years till his father died and his mother was allowed to leave because she was diagnosed with cancer.
Thereafter, the son had to take full responsibility for the debt. The owners got him married to a fellow worker. His wife and brother-in-law have spent seven years working at the same factory. The couple has two children aged five and three who were not working. Apart from this family, a mother and son aged 38 and 19, who had spent five years in bondage at the factory, were also rescued.
Vivek said that he and his family were never allowed to leave the factory together and he could only go out for 10-15 minutes after the day’s work to buy provisions. His wife was never allowed to leave the factory for seven years except for the time when the owner took them out to the government hospital for her deliveries. They had to work continuously from 6 am to 7 pm, six days a week and could only take a short break for lunch.
In the second factory, Chanda from Magadi and her four-year-old son spent six months in bondage after she had taken an advance of Rs 60,000. Chanda said that she was not given any wages but was given two meals a day. She complained that she was given water to bathe only once a month and said that she and her son developed a skin disease from working in the sericulture unit and for not being able to bathe.
A source said that in both units, all the labourers rescued were trafficked by the owners themselves or by an agent. They were promised good wages and living conditions and brought to the units.
(Workers’ names have been changed)
