Muzaffarnagar: Shock in India after police rescue men held as bonded labour in Uttar Pradesh

Nepal resident Dan Bahadur Thapa said he had been held at the factory for nearly two years without any contact with his family.

“We were forced to work. We were given only bran bread with salt and red chilli powder. There wasn’t even sugar in the tea,” he added.

Some workers, including 26-year-old Shivam Kumar, showed the media injury marks on their backs and other body parts which they said were caused by repeated beatings.

The police have registered a case under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, child labour laws and other provisions. A special investigation team has also been constituted to investigate the case, police official Verma said.

Alongside, the police are also investigating allegations that some workers may have died at the factory.

The rescue and the workers’ ordeal has sparked widespread anger on social media, with many asking how such abuse could continue decades after India outlawed bonded labour.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the incident, calling it an attack on human dignity.

“Victims must receive justice along with rehabilitation and the perpetrators the harshest possible punishment,” he wrote on X.

Many others also expressed shock online.

One user described the alleged abuse as “inhumane”, while another wrote that the incident “is a stain on our collective conscience. Justice must be swift and exemplary”.

Police said all 12 workers have received medical treatment and are now undergoing psychiatric counselling.

“Eight have already been reunited with their families,” Verma said. Officials are trying to contact the relatives of the remaining workers and are coordinating with government departments to arrange their rehabilitation, he added.

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