Four bonded labourers from Chhattisgarh rescued in Thane

A woman from Chhattisgarh had lodged a complaint with the Surajpur district collector alleging that her husband had been held captive and forced to work by a contractor in Mumbai for the past four months, an official said.

Thane: The district authorities in Maharashtra’s Thane district have rescued four persons, among them two children, who were forced into bonded labour in Padgha, an official said on Sunday.

A woman from Chhattisgarh had lodged a complaint with the Surajpur district collector alleging that her husband had been held captive and forced to work by a contractor in Mumbai for the past four months, he said.

The complaint was forwarded to Thane district collector Ashok Shingare who ordered an investigation and the captive worker was tracked down on February 1, the official said.

The captive worker Indrapal Singh (30), Manbod Dhani Ram (49) and two minor boys were digging pits for laying of electrical cable lines in Padgha, he said.

The rescued labourers, who belong to Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh, have alleged that they had not been paid wages for the last four months, the official said.

Based on the complaint lodged by the Padgha circle officer, a case has been registered under the IPC, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, he said.