Authorities rescue four bonded labourers from a farm in Dharwad

Officers of revenue, police, labour and other departments rescued four persons working as bonded labourers at Lingadakoppa in Kalaghatagi taluk of Dharwad district on Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team comprising the tahasildar, police and labour department officials raided a farm belonging to one Basavaraj Kattimani in Lingadakoppa village of Kalaghatagi taluk and found the labourers.

The rescued workers are from Chindwara district in Madhya Pradesh and were hired for sugarcane harvesting in Maharashtra by paying an advance of ₹5,000 each. From Maharashtra, they were allegedly brought to Lingadakoppa where they were forced to work as farm labourers.

The labourers complained to the officials that they were made to work continuously and not allowed to speak to their family members.

Officials registered a case under the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976, against the accused Sanjay Kalerama Kavareti, a person from Madhya Pradesh, and Lakshman Sugreeva Jadhav, a person from Maharashtra, who reportedly brought them from MP.

Officials provided workers with temporary shelter, food, medical assistance and safety. The assistant commissioner said they would be provided assistance to reach their native village, by booking train tickets. They will carry copies of the release letters and documents to prove that they have received compensation.

Apart from officials from revenue, police, social welfare and labour departments, a team from Belagavi-based Spandana NGO, also helped rescue the labourers, said a release. eom