CHENNAI: As many as 48 bonded labourers, including women and children, from Chhattisgarh were rescued on Monday from a goshala, housing around 2,000 cows at Devandavakkam village near Uthukottai in Tiruvallur district.
The crackdown by the police and revenue officials followed a tip-off provided by a bonded labourer who managed to escape from the facility.
The police have registered a case against the owner of the facility - Natarajan (60) - and his wife.
Sources said a labour contractor identified as Aravind had arranged employment for the workers after learning of job opportunities at the goshala through his contacts in Red Hills. Natarajan had allegedly agreed to pay `700 per day for each couple and provided an advance of Rs 75,000 towards transportation expenses.
The officials said one batch of workers arrived from Chhattisgarh on May 5, followed by another group along with their children. The labourers were engaged in maintaining the large cattle shelter.
During investigation, the officials found the workers had allegedly been made to work for over 14 hours a day and were not paid the wages promised. They were also allegedly confined to the premises and subjected to exploitative working conditions.
The officials said the labourers were not subjected to physical abuse and that efforts are being taken to send them back to Chhattisgarh at the earliest.