Indla Penchalaiah, 30, a tribal youth, suffered three days of agony in illegal confinement of his former employer before he was rescued by the police at Saluchintala village in Kovur mandal near Nellore on Wednesday. Two persons were arrested in this connection.
Superintendent of Police B.V. Ramana Kumar rushed to the village on receiving information that the tribal youth was illegally confined by a brick kiln owner named M. Narasimha Rao. The youth reportedly failed to repay a debt of Rs.20,000.
Mr. Ramana Kumar launched the rescue operation along with officials of the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) and the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA).
The brick kiln owner and his wife were taken into custody and a case was booked under section 347 of the IPC for wrongful confinement of a person.
The SP told The Hindu that the tribal youth, belonging to the Challa Yanadula community, had borrowed Rs.10,000 from the brick kiln owner three-and-a-half years ago when he was working at the kiln along with 10 Yanadi families. They stopped working at the kiln after a few months and returned to their native place at Chavatapalem Yanadula Sangham in Alluru mandal headquarters.
Last Sunday, when the youth was waiting for a bus at Alluru bus stand, the brick kiln owner whisked him away and confined him at Saluchintala. He demanded that the youth repay Rs.20,000 which included the interest amount.
The authorities are investigating whether the youth was subjected to harassment.
