SIVAGANGA: The efforts to reunite a 60-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh, who was rescued from bonded labour by the district administration and police department, are yet to bear fruits. He was allegedly rescued after 20 years of captivity on January 31. He is currently housed in Sivaganga district.
Assistant Commissioner of Labour Department I Muthu said Appa Rao was a goat grazer from Annathurai of Kadabankulam. Muthu said that Appa Rao is not well versed in Tamil. We found Rao during a joint raid conducted along with the revenue department (concerned VAO, RI) police department, NGO and District Legal Service, Muthu said.
Twenty years back, Rao had alighted from a train for having tea at a railway station but missed his train. He was unable to recollect the year and station where the incident took place.
Later, he was allegedly trapped by Annathurai, who had kept him as a bonded labourer for years. After rescuing him from Annathurai, a complaint was filed with the Kalaiyarkoil police station, who registered a case and later arrested Annathurai.
Rao claimed that he had not visited his hometown, Parthipuram or Parvathipuram in Andhra Pradesh, where his wife and children were allegedly staying decades back. Initial attempts to trace them were not fruitful, Muthu added.