Pune: In a joint operation, the Yawat police, officials from the district magistrate’s office, and members of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) rescued 27 bonded labourers from a sugarcane farm in Rahu village, Daund taluka, on Tuesday. The group included two pregnant women and six children, reported The Times of India.
The rescue operation followed a complaint from one of the victims, who alleged that she and her family had been confined and exploited for years. A case has been registered against two farm owners under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the FIR, the complainant — a resident of Kopargaon taluka in Ahilyanagar district — said that in 2015, the accused paid her family an advance of ₹10,000 to work in their sugarcane fields. After that, they were not allowed to leave the village. The workers were reportedly monitored constantly, even during visits to the local market, to ensure they did not escape.
A DLSA official said the case came to light after one of the male workers managed to flee about a year ago and reported the matter to the district collector and the DLSA. Acting on the information, a team of officials and police conducted a raid and freed the workers.
All those rescued are residents of Sangamner and Kopargaon talukas in Ahilyanagar district. Some had been brought to Daund nearly a decade ago, while others arrived around six years ago. The complainant also said that the accused denied them permission to travel for family functions and funerals, and often harassed them.
The situation worsened on October 20, when her nephew fell ill. When the family sought permission to take him to a doctor, the accused allegedly assaulted the boy, accused him of pretending to be sick, and locked him inside the house.
Senior Inspector Narayan Deshmukh of Yawat police station said that none of the accused were arrested as the charges were bailable. The district administration arranged vehicles and provided the rescued workers with necessary documents to help them return home.
A member of the DLSA rescue team said that one of the women, who was over nine months pregnant, gave birth to a baby girl the day after being rescued.
Social worker Carol Pereira, who was part of the rescue operation, said that such incidents were common on sugarcane farms and occurred in many parts of the state. She added that workers were often underpaid and prevented from leaving their workplace.
