Two persons, Kamlesh and Sanjay, were booked on Sunday, January 13 for allegedly kidnapping 24 people from Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh and “selling” them in sugarcane farms in Baghpat as bonded labourers.
The Indian Express reported that 18 out of the 24 people managed to escape and returned after they were taken to Baghpat; six people were still trapped as bonded labourers. Jeetlal Vishwakarma’s brother Rajendra was allegedly approached by the two accused to find people for a job in Haryana. Vishwakarma claimed that his brother took 24 people to Baghpat and left them with Kamlesh and Sanjay.
“Next day, when Rajendra was on his way back, some of them called him saying that they did not like the work and wanted to leave. Rajendra returned to Baghpat and asked Kamlesh and Sanjay to let those people go. They locked him in a room, took his mobile phone and beat him up,” Vishwakarma told Express.
He added, “A few days later, Rajendra somehow managed to call me and said that all the labourers who went with him have been handed over to different farmers to work as bonded labourers in sugarcane fields. They were not given proper food and were forced to work from early morning to late evening.”
Based on Vishwakarma’s complaint, the two accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 363 (kidnapping), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and section 16 of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act.
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