Vellore Collector R. Nanthagopal issued release certificates to the 48 rescued bonded labourers from other states at a function held at the taluk office in Tirupattur on Sunday.
According to an official release, the bonded labourers who were rescued from an incense stick manufacturing unit in Kandili on Thursday comprised 26 from West Bengal, 17 from Assam, three from Jharkhand and two from Arunachal Pradesh.
The Collector also distributed the first instalment of Rs.1000 from out of the rehabilitation assistance of Rs.20,000 to each of the 48 labourers. D. Roshit, owner of the incense stick unit who employed the labourers has been arrested by the Kandili police.