The NHRC has sent notices to the Maharashtra government and the state’s police chief over 11 labourers allegedly being kept chained in Osmanabad district by a contractor to dig wells and prevent them from escaping, officials said on Monday.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a statement observed that the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act have been “grossly violated” by the contractor in this case.
The incident clearly indicates the “failure of the local administration to safeguard the labourers from such brutality committed upon them by the contractors, without any fear of the law”. The officers who failed to do their lawful duty are required to be dealt with according to law, the rights panel said.
The content of the media report, if true, amounts to a grave violation of the human rights of the labourers, the commission said.
The NHRC has taken “suo motu cognisance of a media report that 11 labourers were kept chained by the contractor to dig wells and prevent them from escaping in the Osmanabad district of Maharashtra,” it said in the statement on Monday.
The labourers were allegedly forced to work for 12 hours a day to dig a well without any wages. They got food once a day and were forced to answer nature’s call inside the well itself.
Reportedly, they were rescued on June 17 after one of them managed to sneak out, reached his village in the state’s Hingoli district and informed the police about the torture, the statement said.
Mere rescue by the police and arrest of some of the accused in this case is “not going to serve the purpose”, the rights panel observed.
Accordingly, it has issued notices to the state’s chief secretary and the director general of police, seeking a detailed report within four weeks.
“It should also include the status of the investigation being conducted in the case, action taken against the perpetrators and steps taken/proposed to be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future anywhere in the area,” the statement added.
It is necessary for the administration to start proceedings as per labour laws in the case to ensure the proper release of all the labourers and that relief and rehabilitation laid down under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act is provided to the victims without any delay, the rights body said.
It is also required on the part of the Osmanabad district magistrate to ensure “strict compliance” of the labour laws for the safety and security of the labourers working under contractors in the area, it added.
According to the June 21 media report, the labourers were deployed by the contractors two-three months ago to dig a well in Khamaswadi and Wakharwadi villages under the Dhoki police station limits in Osmanabad.
Reportedly, the contractors were “habitual in deploying these tactics” while engaging labourers for three-four months in such torturous conditions that, when released, they preferred running away without asking for their wages to escape more torture.
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