Lucknow: The police have rescued 13 people who were kept confined under appalling conditions inside a bag-making factory in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
The labourers, from UP and other parts of the country and Nepal had been offered work at the factory about two years ago. Their identity documents and phones were then snatched and they were made to work without wages.
The workers alleged that they were beaten, starved and constantly guarded by two pitbull dogs. There are allegations that some labourers died due to the torture. Authorities are looking into them.
The police launched the operation to rescue the labourers along with the state’s labour department and the local administration.
The workers, who hailed from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand, various parts of Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal, alleged that they were lured by promises of fair wages, only to be subjected to months of brutal mistreatment upon their arrival at the factory, as reported by Republic TV.
The rescue operations was launched after one of the labourers managed to escape the factory and alert the police. Numerous workers were being held captive on the premises, he reported.
The police rescued Ramu, Vikram, Narayan, Sitaram, Santosh, Shivam Jatav, Jagdish, Rajhans, Sahil, Ranjeet Paswan, Dilshad, Ujjwal, and Sonu Chauhan during the operation. Two suspects, Shivam Tyagi and Pradeep Baliyan were arrested. Authorities also confiscated sticks and other weapons allegedly used to assault the labourers.
They had been brought to the factory approximately two years ago with promises of regular wages, the workers claimed. Upon arrival, their mobile phones and identity documents were confiscated, cutting them off from their families.
They were deprived of adequate food, often receiving only dry bread once a day, and were subjected to repeated physical abuse if they questioned their conditions or attempted to flee, the workers alleged.
Furthermore, two pitbull dogs were kept on the premises to intimidate them and enforce their captivity, they reported. The abuse continued for months, with their bodies bearing visible marks of the alleged torture.
Allegations of several workers dying in captivity at the factory are being probed. The matter is being thoroughly examined, officials said.
Meanwhile, the rescued workers were subsequently taken for medical examinations and treatment. They were later greeted with garlands and steps began to send them back home.
