Over 100 persons, including five children, were rescued from “jail-like” conditions in an agarbatti factory at Kaggalipura, close to Kanakapura, on the outskirts of the city on Thursday.
Based on a tip-off, the district administration and police raided Balaji Agarbatti factory. However, on enquiry, they found that 107 workers – mainly from West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and Nepal – were forced to work there without proper payment.
“They were hired through an agency. Once they arrived at the factory, they were not allowed to go out or even talk to relatives,” said Dayanand, Tahsildar of Bengaluru South taluk. The administration is yet to ascertain if the children had been employed or had merely come along with their families, he said.
According to International Justice Mission, which assisted in the operation, the workers were forced to work daily between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m.; some had not been paid for two years.
A case has been filed against the factory owner, Balaji, contractor as well as the tout who brought them.
