Scars caused by ill-treatment are a testimony to the sorry state of 11 bonded labourers, including nine boys aged less than 18.
Officials who rescued them found that they survived on one meal a day and a cup of tea till the team landed at their workplace, a pani-puri unit in Kondithope, on Saturday.
“They worked from 3 a.m. every day. There were signs of ill-treatment. They were beaten up and their hands had scars caused by spilling of hot oil while making pani-puri. We have rescued all of them,” said K.S. Kanchanamala, tahsildar of Purasawalkam. She was part of the rescue team that comprised labour officials and district child protection officers. The labourers were from Jaunpur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Four were aged below 14, five between 14 and 18 and two were aged above 18. They had been working between one and four years.
NGO alerted
One of the bonded labourers, a 40-year-old man, escaped from the unit and alerted a non-governmental organisation based in Varanasi. The organisation informed International Justice Mission (IJM), following which officials were alerted. M. Raja, advocate, IJM, said the owner did not pay the workers wages and never allowed them to leave the premises. “The families of the rescued persons had borrowed money ranging from ₹2,000 to ₹1 lakh. They worked for at least 18 hours a day,” he said. The boys were sent to the Government Children’s Home for Boys, Royapuram.
The tahsildar lodged a complaint with the Seven Wells police against the owners, a father-son duo, following which the son has been arrested.
