BENGALURU: Ten children and 15 adults were on Thursday rescued from a brick kiln in Yelahanka where they were employed as bonded labourers.
The operation was led by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Criminal Investigation Department. According to sources, kiln owner Anik Kumar had recruited the labourers from Odisha and brought them to Bengaluru by train.
“He had promised each adult a sum of Rs 25,000 as advance payment, but after reaching the city, he refused to give them the money and only paid them Rs 150 as weekly salary. The minors were not paid at all,” a source told Express. The labourers were not even given food, the source added.
An AHTU officer said the labourers used to work from 3 am to late in the night, making 1,500 bricks a day.After they were rescued, the labourers told the police that they were abused physically by the owner. “A 50-year-old female labourer was beaten black and blue after she was found resting due to an injury. A male labourer was beaten up when he asked to visit his daughter back home in Odisha,” said a police officer
Even the children were regularly threatened with a stick. The youngest among them was a five-year-old.