Odisha girl confined in Tamil Nadu textile unit rescued

BHUBANESWAR: The Puri District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has rescued a 21-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu as her employer was not allowing her to return to Odisha in the middle of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The rescued girl was identified as Jasoda Behera, a resident of Gaudabada Sahi in Puri town.
Jasoda had been working as a tailor in a textile factory at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu for the past few months.
With the rise in Covid-19 cases, Jasoda wanted to return home. But, her employer allegedly did not grant her leave, causing her mental harassment.
Her father Giridhari Behera, an auto-rickshaw driver, requested the Puri district collector Samarth Verma and labour officials to rescue his daughter. The district administration requested the Puri DLSA to intervene.
“The DLSA’s chairperson Santosh Kumar Jena, who is also the Puri district judge, directed me to take necessary action. We immediately contacted Tirupur DLSA’s secretary Mekala Mythili. Due to the coordination between the DLSAs of Puri and Tirupur, Jasoda could be rescued from the textile unit,” DLSA’s secretary Amaresh Mohapatra told media persons.
Mohapatra denied the rescued girl was physically or sexually assaulted.
“According to her statement, she was wrongfully confined by her employer. She did not make any other accusations. We have requested the Tirupur DLSA to initiate necessary legal action,” Mohapatra said.