The recent raid on an agarbatti factory on the outskirts of Bengaluru, in which 107 labourers were rescued, points to a trafficking network that runs much deeper than what this specific case reveals.
Those rescued by the district administration and the police from Balaji Agarbatti Factory at Kaggalipura on Thursday hail from West Bengal (43), Assam (40), Jharkhand (22), and Nepal (2). They were brought here in batches over three years. However, the common thread running through all their narratives is the modus operandi of “agents” who brought them to Bengaluru.
The first chain in many cases is a “known” man. For instance, Rajesh Thathi and four others from Assam were brought from his village to Rongia town (in Assam) by Shyam, a man they knew from the neighbouring village. Their next stop was Delhi where they stayed in an “office” run by a person who most of them recognise as Ranjit. “There were at least 100 people like us there,” he said. “There were also girls in another floor. We heard they were sent to work in houses, though we did not know where they went.”
| Recounting ordeal |
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| For the workers of Balaji Agarbatti Factory, it was a gruelling routine from the day they landed here. They worked from dawn to past midnight,with short breaks for breakfast and lunch. “We ate rice and watery cabbage sambhar that even pigs wouldn’t eat,” said Sakhicharan Soren from West Bengal. “I worked in a tea plantation for Rs. 120 a day and was promised Rs. 7,500 here with stay and food. I thought I can save and send money back home,”said Rajesh Thathi from Assam. Panchau Kujur,also from West Bengal,said they had stayed in the hope of getting the salary as a lump sum despite the maar peet(alleged beating by the employer) and confinement. “We were beaten even if spoke much to each other,” he said.“We came with hopes,but going back empty handed,” said Devnath Porja from Assam. All the workers are hoping to get back wages for the work they did in the factory and a compensation of Rs.50,000 they are entitled to from the government(their native State and Centre) as freed bonded labourers. |
The next stop was Tirupattur, Tamil Nadu, where some of them worked briefly in another agarbatti factory before moving to Bengaluru. While the first point of contact at the village level is different depending on the State from which they hail, the Delhi agent is unanimously mentioned by all workers.
“There is certainly a racket here and the police are on the lookout for links to the agency in Delhi,” said Dayanand, tahsildar of Bengaluru South taluk. Besides provisions of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the factory owner and touts have also been booked for human trafficking (Section 370).
Sources in Kaggalipura police said it was a “clear case of trafficking with inter-State ramifications” with several agents involved. Subsequently, a raid was also conducted at an agarbatti factory in Tirupattur, where 48 workers were rescued.
| His fiancée is missing since 2011 |
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| Aryan Lama from Nepal worked as a driver and often travelled to India. He was to marry a girl from Siliguri. In 2011, lured by an agent, they both decided to come to Bengaluru to “make some money”. They were first brought to Delhi and from there to Tamil Nadu. “Once we reached, the girl was sent away to work; I have not seen her since,” he says. “I was told that she ran away from the house where she was employed.” While most of the rescued workers plan to return to their native, Mr. Lama is not sure. “I have no money,” he says. |
