Barwani: 57 people including 30 labourers, 27 children rescued from two states

Barwani (Madhya Pradesh): Pati police rescued 57 people including 30 labourers and 27 children from Karnataka and Maharashtra on Saturday. The labourers had gone to two states searching for work but they were engaged in forced labour for long hours without pay.

Police received information that labourers of Ubadgarh village had gone to Bagalkot in Karnataka and Kolhapur in Maharashtra in search of work, on January 29, 2022. The labourers had been engaged in sugarcane harvesting and forced to work continuously for 16-20 hours of the day without being paid. They were being brutally oppressed, exploited and needed to be rescued immediately. As many as 24 persons including 10 elders and 14 children were in Bagalkot while 20 elders and 13 children were working in Kolhapur.

Taking note of the matter, superintendent of police Deepak Kumar Shukla constituted a joint team under additional SP RD Prajapati, SDOP Ruprekha Yadav and station in-charge RK Lovanshi, district labor officer Kushal Singh Mujalde and labor inspector Lakhan Singh Bhanwar to look ensure the release of the labourers. Shukla also apprised the Kolhapur SP and Bagalkot SP of the rescue and return of the labourers. †With the help of the Bagalkot SP, the labourers were rescued and sent to Kolhapur.

Likewise, the Kolhapur SP along with his team also rescued the labourers. All 57 persons were brought to one place with the coordination of deputy SP Rajiv Navale and PSI Kumar Dhare. Jansahas NGO and other social organisations provided food and water to the rescued labourers. Thereafter, the men, women and children reached Pati in an Eicher covering around 800 kilometers on road. Later, they all were safely sent to their respective homes.

In another incident, a joint team of police and labour departments led by Shukla had also rescued 56 labourers from Bailagam in Karnataka, a few days ago. Shukla expressed gratitude towards Bagalkot and Kolhapur SPs for their cooperation and efforts.