52 bonded labourers rescued while being trafficked from Balangir
52 bonded labourers rescued while being trafficked from Balangir
admin
Balangir: On Thursday, 52 bonded labourers were allegedly being trafficked out of Kantabanji in the Balangir region of Odisha when authorities rescued them.
According to accounts, the rescued labourers, which include 17 women and the same number of children, are from the surrounding towns of Sinapali and Belpada in the state's Nuapada district.
A police squad from Kantabanji and the Government Railway Police (GRP) conducted searches at the Kantabanji railway station based on a tip-off, freeing the bonded labourers. The cops also detained an intermediary.
The middleman allegedly took the workers outside of the state and hired them as bonded labourers.
The middleman was detained on suspicion of human trafficking and in violation of the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act of 1976, and the labourers who had been saved were transported to the Kantabanji police station for additional investigation.
The labourers were transported to their respective settlements by the local government and police.
Western Odisha has seen an increase in human trafficking as a result of the area's lack of economic possibilities.
On October 30, 27 bonded labourers were smuggled out of a village in Balangir district when authorities recovered them.
A little over three weeks ago, authorities in the Balangir district rescued 49 bonded labourers who were being trafficked from two different locations. A united squad of Kantabanji and Belpada police managed to save them. They were all citizens of Patnagarh, Belpada, and Tureikela.
