CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday issued notices to the State government to file a report on the allegation that children were engaged as labourers in private textile mills in Tirupur.
The court was hearing a petition by Tamil Desiya Makkal Katchi president CM Sivababu, who sought a direction to the authorities concerned to trace and rescue six children aged between 13 and 15, who are allegedly working at the textile mills.
When the High Court bench wondered if the petitioner was trying to blackmail the private mills through the present plea, the petitioner’s advocate J Ashok told the court that over 200 minors have been taken to Tirupur to work in various private textile mills. “The petitioner himself managed to rescue an acquaintance’s daughter from one such mill.
There are many more children in the illegal custody of the mill owners,” Ashok added. The judges also mentioned a report dated July 29 in The New Indian Express titled ‘Officials rescue 40 minors forcefully detained in private mill’ during the hearing.