BENGALURU: Twenty-year-old Baikuntha Bag, a labourer in Odisha, was in dire need of money. With no assets and savings, he could not take a loan from a bank. When he was lured with a ‘job offer’, a bait of Rs 20,000 in cash, a secure job and a happier future, Baikuntha was relieved that he could finally bid adieu to his financial woes.
Little did he realise that he was being taken for a ride by an agent, who was capitalising on his situation.
In November 2017, Baikuntha landed in Bengaluru, two weeks after he received his job offer, unaware that he was among the 43 victims who were brought to Bengaluru from Odisha as bonded labourers.
The families were first approached by a Sardar or labour contractor, who promised them good jobs, food, and houses to live in, then took them to a second agent who gave each of them an advance while keeping their Aadhaar cards as surety. A third agent then brought them to Bengaluru by train in two batches. Once they reached the city, the promises were broken.
“All the promises that the sir in the market made turned out to be lies. They said we would be getting food three times a day, but there were times when we would not get food for even a week. They would not let us go out and would make us work even when we were ill,” he says.
The labourers at this brick kiln were given a target of baking 500 bricks a day. The meagre amount of `50 per day was incomparable to the price the labourers had to pay. “There’s no work in Odisha, nothing to eat and I needed money. But the condition here was worse,” says Baikuntha.
Not an isolated case
Noting a similar pattern in trafficking cases, Prathima M, associate director, International Justice Mission (IJM), says there is a larger nexus that carefully plans the movement and transactions that take place between these labourers and their owners.
“If you closely observe, there is a pattern to all these cases. For example, brick factories usually get their labourers from Odisha as they are familiar with the work that is expected and are able to produce several bricks in a day. In bag factories, boys younger than 21 are put to task.” She further adds, “There is a close nexus that operates. They ensure that the labourers land at the destination from the source place.”
Even though the employers have been booked for the crime, Prathima is of the opinion that the nexus be investigated and the mediators who are involved in the process, be busted. “Just booking the employees is significant, but that’s not enough. There could be much more that could surface if we get deeper into this,” she adds.
Anti-trafficking laws
The Lok Sabha recently passed ‘The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2018’, which intends to prevent trafficking, especially women and children, to provide care, protection and rehabilitation. It also provides for the setting up of National Anti Trafficking Bureau (NATB) to deal with crimes having inter-state ramifications. Before this bill was tabled, rehabilitation of these survivors was not mandatory, but once this bill is passed by both houses of the parliament, it will become a right of the survivors.
Former IPS officer Dr PM Nair says, “With this bill coming to place, rehabilitation has become a legal right, so far it was only a welfare act. This will be done with the help of rehabilitation committees at the district, state and national level. Every state will have a nodal officer, even the police will be accountable to register crime. Once this law comes in, there will be the setting up of rehabilitation committees which will ensure that these survivors are rehabilitated. Accountability has come into the government bodies.”