Contractor booked for allegedly holding four bonded labourers without pay

Four bonded labourers from Chhattisgarh were rescued in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, in a joint operation by local authorities and police. The labourers had allegedly been held by a contractor for months without pay. A case has been filed against the contractor under the Bonded Labour Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Bhiwandi: Four bonded labourers from Chhatisgarh detained by a contractor, identified as Kavin Manivel, 30, in Padgha village, Bhiwandi were rescued last week in a joint operation by Thane Collector, Tribal Development department, Thane revenue officials and Bhiwandi police.

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The rescue took place on the night of Thursday and Padgha police in Bhiwandi registered a case against a contractor on Friday for allegedly holding four labourers without pay for months under the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and IPC provisions.

The rescued labourers, identified as Vikesh Uttam Singh, 17, Badal Sovit Singh, 14, Indrapal Jagannath Singh, 30, and Manbodh Dhani Singh, 49, all from Surajpur, Chhattisgarh, were brought to Mumbai for work through an agent.

According to police sources, the complaint was filed by Rajkumari Indrapal Singh, who approached the district collector of Surajpur, Chhattisgarh, alleging that her husband had been kept in Mumbai for forced labour by the contractor for the past four months. District collector Rohit Vyas contacted Thane collector Ashok Shingare complaining about the issue.

The police swung into action and alerted Murbad Tahsildar and the concerned police officer to find out the mobile location of the bonded labourers. But they failed to trace them. Thereafter, Bhiwandi Tahsildar Abhijit Khole, Amit Sanap, sub divisional officer of Bhiwandi and senior police inspector Kumbhar began to look for them across the Padgha village. They reached a spot with help of technical intelligence and found four labourers working on-site, digging a pit for a borewell or electricity work.

The labourers revealed that the contractor had not paid them for the last four months and subjected them to abuse when wages were demanded. The contractor allegedly restricted their movements during this period.

Abhijit Khole, Tahsildar, Bhiwandi, said, “We rescued the four laborers and issued release certificates to the adults. The two minors were handed over to the Juvenile Justice Board and subsequently sent to the Children Welfare Committee. The committee will prepare a report and contact their families following the due procedure.”

Bala Kumbhar, senior police inspector of Padgha police station, said, “We lodged a case against the contractor, and further investigations are ongoing.”

A case has been filed against Contractor Manivel under section 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Bonded Labour Act.