12 bonded labourers rescued from police quarters

Twelve bonded labourers who were working in the police residential quarters in Bengaluru for nearly two months were rescued on Sunday.

A joint team of the Revenue Department and the jurisdictional police raided the City Armed Reserve (CAR) police quarters and rescued 12 bonded labourers who were working on the premises of the police residential quarters for the last one and a half months.

A contractor had brought the labourers, all from Andhra Pradesh, for construction work at the residential quarters on CAR Grounds in Adugodi in Bengaluru.

Maruthi Prasad, a revenue officer, led the raid with the help of the police and rescued the labourers. Officials said the revenue officer was tipped off by social workers.

The rescued were among the 15 labourers employed at the construction site who were living on the premises in makeshift houses near the site.

The workers told the officials that Gopal had bought them after giving some advance money to their families. The victims were not paid salary and were given some groceries every week.

Revenue officials and social workers counselled the victims and issued certificates for their further rehabilitation.

The police are trying to find out who assigned Gopal to supply labourers at the CAR site.

The Adugodi police have filed an FIR against Gopal, charging him under section 374 (unlawful compulsory labour), 344 (wrongful confinement ) and section 370 (buying or disposing of any person as a slave) of the IPC and also under various provisions of bonded labour system (abolition) act. Efforts are on to track down the accused.