Child worker 'tortured' to death in Delhi

In a stark reminder that the child labour law is hardly a deterrent, an 11-year-old boy working in a sweatshop was found dead on Tuesday. He allegedly suffered regular beating at the hands of his employer.

In a stark reminder that the child labour law is hardly a deterrent, an 11-year-old boy working in a sweatshop was found dead on Tuesday. He allegedly suffered regular beating at the hands of his employer.

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The unit in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri that made bindis and bangles employed a dozen other children too, all of whom are missing. The owner is also missing while a worker has been detained.

The police said the boy did not have any external injury marks on him.

"But neighbours say the employer beat the children and tortured them when they refused to work," an officer said.

The neighbours called up an NGO after they saw some workers sneaking in a slab of ice into the factory.

The NGO workers, who found the body, said the employer didn't call the police even 24 hours after the boy died.