THENI: A woman knocked at the doors of the Collector on Monday, requesting to rescue her 16-year-old son, who, she alleged, was engaged as a bonded labourer at a shop in Hosur for the past four years.
In a petition to the Collector, the woman, Mahalakshmi, wife of Muthukamatchi from Thammanampatti village near Gudalur, stated that a few years ago, Ramar, hailing from Malaipatti village near Usilampatti, approached her and promised job for her son Manu (name changed) at his sweet stall in Hosur. He assured an annual salary of `20,000.
Since Manu was a school drop-out and was not going for any work, Mahalakshmi agreed to the offer and sent her son, then 16-year-old, to Hosur in 2013. However, Ramar failed in the payment and sent only `15,000 so far.
He did not even allow Manu to go meet his family members and the boy was given permission to talk to his mother only once a week, that too only when Ramar was around.
When this continued for a while, Mahalakshmi requested Ramar to send her son back home, but he did not pay heed. Following this, the family members went to Hosur in search of the boy, only to find to their horror that the address given by Ramar was fake.
‘The last time I spoke to my son was in January this year. He said he wanted to come home, but could not reveal anything more as he was surrounded by people,” Mahalakshmi said.
She further alleged that Ramar had threatened them of dire consequences if she lodged a complaint with the police. Not paying heed to the threats, Mahalakshmi lodged two complaints with the Gudalur police – one in 2016 and the second one in February this year.
However, the police did not take any action, she alleged. Following this, she approached the Collector and submitted a petition.
When contacted, Collector N Venkatachalam told Express that Mahalakshmi submitted a petition requesting to trace her son.
“However, the person, who engaged the boy for work, is from Usilampatti. Hence, the petition has been forwarded to the Madurai Collector for inquiry,” he added.