72 bonded labourers rescued

They were subjected to inhuman treatment; Brick-kiln owners on the run

Two pregnant women are assaulted by the owner, in the presence of their spouses, when they demanded a break from work. They are critically injured. All the labourers are rescued by the officials with help of two NGOs International Justice Mission and Association for Rural Development Seventy two daily-wage labourers, including 24 children, were rescued from a brick kiln at Gowdavalli, about 6 kilometres from Medchal, on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted by two NGOs- International Justice Mission (IJM) and Association for Rural Development (ARD)-along with the Medchal revenue inspector Niharika.

Tirupati Rao, owner of the brick kiln, along with two of his henchmen, are on the run.

All the rescued labourers hail from backward districts of Odisha. Most of them belong to Belpada village in Balangir district. In June last, the labourers were lured into the job, with the promise of a good salary.

All the recruits were working in inhuman conditions. They were forced to work exhaustively in two shifts of 6am-2pm and 3pm-2am. Of the 24 children, 19 are below eight years of age. They were not paid any remuneration. The adults used to get paid Rs 100 for an entire week’s work.

Roseann Rajan, advocate and member of IJM, said, “The owner never showed any mercy on the workers. Two pregnant women, Purnamideep and Sukantala, were assaulted by the owner, in the presence of their spouses, when they demanded a break from work. They are critically injured and have been rushed to a corporate hospital. The doctors believe that their fetuses might have been damaged.”

Another labourer Surendra who had deep injuries on his neck lamented, “Two weeks ago, I requested for a day’s off from work and medical treatment when I fell sick. The owner in an inebriated state sunk his nails and lacerated my neck.”

Niharika, revenue inspector (RI) at Medchal, said, “The owner seems to be an influential person. Right from Tuesday afternoon when we rescued the labourers, we have been getting calls from many people trying to offer us bribe. But we are not deterred. We are continuing to file a status report of the incident.” The rescued workers are currently housed at the Mandal office in Medchal under police protection. A one-on-one inquiry is being conducted with all the labourers by the NGOs and the revenue inspector. Their effort is to ensure that release certificates are granted to the rescued workers.

The NGOs, meanwhile, would ensure that the status report be forwarded to the district tahsildar and the National Human Rights Commission. It would also arrange for transport to make sure that labourers get back to their respective homes.