Acting on an information about minor boys from Tamil Nadu being held as bonded labourers at a murukku factory in Karnataka, a special team formed by Theni Collector M. Pallavi Baldev rescued the boys.
The boys – two from Theni and two from Dindigul districts – were made to work in subhuman conditions for long hours at the factory in Mathangiri in Uttara Kannada district. One of the boys, who had been working there for nine years, had managed to escape and had reached his home town Periyakulam in Theni district, recently. Acting upon the information that he gave, the Collector formed a special team consisting of a tahsildar, a labour official and three police official, who on Monday travelled to Karnataka.
“We met the Uttara Kannada district Collector, who formed a special team there and with our assistance, the boys were rescued on Tuesday. The owners of the factory, a couple belonging to Tamil Nadu, were booked under the Bonded Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act and remanded. The boys were handed over to the Child Welfare Committee and their statements were recorded in the presence of the RDO, after which they were brought to Tamil Nadu. They have been given a bonded labour certificate, which will help them avail various government schemes related to education, housing etc,” said R. Rajkumar, Assistant Commissioner, Labour department.
“The boys will be given a relief of ₹20,000 each from the Karnataka government. After conviction of the case, they will be given a compensation of ₹2 lakh each. Right now, the boys are at the Child Welfare Committee home and they will be handed over to their parents on Monday,” he added.