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SP MLA, wife served notice for alleged child labour
According to officials, the Uttar Pradesh labour department served the notice to the couple in the afternoon, requiring a response within a week.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Zahid Beg and his wife have been issued a notice for allegedly subjecting a minor girl to child labour at their official residence for two and a half years, officials said on Thursday.
According to officials, the Uttar Pradesh labour department served the notice to the couple in the afternoon, requiring a response within a week.
“The labour department has served a notice to Beg and his wife, accusing them of holding the 17-year-old captive and forcing her to work without pay,” said labour enforcement officer J P Singh.
The action follows the tragic suicide of another teenager at the MLA’s residence on Monday and the subsequent rescue of the 17-year-old girl during a raid conducted by Bhadohi police and labour enforcement department personnel on Tuesday.
The girl was handed over to a social organisation after appearing before the Child Welfare Committee. She also underwent a medical examination, which confirmed her age as 17, labour department officials said.
The Child Welfare Committee chairman, P C Upadhyay, recorded the girl’s statement and instructed the labour department to take appropriate action based on the evidence.
Beg and his wife are required to deposit two and a half years’ wages into the rescued girl’s newly opened bank account. Failure to respond to the notice within a week will lead to further legal action, Singh said.
The labour department is also planning to file a case against Beg and his wife in the court of the sub-divisional magistrate of Bhadohi, he added.
