ROURKELA: Rourkela police have registered a case against a lady activist, also a member of a leading social welfare club, after a complaint that she organised mass weddings of young women in exchange for exploiting them as bonded workers.
A case under various sections of BNS and the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered at the Sector 15 police station against the woman who also happens to be wife of a businessman.
The complainant of Sector-18 slum on June 21 gave to the police in writing that she came to know about a mass wedding ceremony by the club at a local ashram. Accordingly, she with four of her friends, contacted the woman activist expressing their willingness to get married.
She then alleged that the activist made a condition that they would have to work for 15 days to acquire experience in household chores and engaged them in shops and houses. However, they were not given any remuneration for the physical labour. Later, they got married in a mass wedding ceremony on June 8 and the activist reportedly took an undertaking from them to work for her.
The complainant said the undertaking was drafted in a manner that she was indebted to the activist for arranging her marriage and bearing the cost. It also had a condition that for two years she would be bound to work at any house or shop prescribed by the activist against a fixed salary and for two years she would have to stick around.
The complainant alleged that similar undertakings were also taken from her friends, and when they refused to be her bonded labours, the activist threatened and abused them along with throwing casteist remarks.
DSP, Zone-I Jogeshwar Panda said statements of the victims would be recorded before the magistrate and added that appropriate action would be taken on completion of the ongoing investigation. The case was registered under sections 318(2), 146, 351 (2) and 3(5) of BNS and sections 3(1)(h), 3(1)(r) and 3(2)(va) of SC &ST (POA) Act.