BERHAMPUR: Police have rescued three migrant workers of Ganjam’s Digapahandi area, who were allegedly tortured at a private company in Tamil Nadu, and arrested two labour brokers in this connection.
Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said the arrested labour brokers, Khirodh Tandi (28) of Tiruppur and Karthi (24) of Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu, were brought on remand to Odisha by police on Friday. The duo allegedly exploited B Budu Reddy (27), S Dhoba Reddy (27) and B Purnachandra Reddy (29) of Laxminarayanpur village in Digapahandi.
The accused reportedly trapped the three migrant workers with the promise of good wages and took them to Tamil Nadu two months ago. On reaching there, the duo handed them over to a contractor.
The workers were made to toil as labourers without adequate food and wages. They were confined to a room in Tiruppur district. The accused also assaulted the three workers and made them work for over 18 hours a day, said police.
On February 7, one Durjyadhon Dora of Laxminarayanapur village lodged a complaint with Digapahandi police, basing on which a case was registered. Later, families of the three victims met the Berhampur SP and requested him to rescue the workers. Subsequently, a team of Digapahandi police was sent to Tamil Nadu. The victims were rescued on February 11 from Tiruppur, said the SP.
The same day, the two accused were arrested from Karumattampatti, Coimbatore and produced in the local court. They were brought to Odisha on a five-day remand and produced before the court of JMFC, Digapahandi, said police.