Gujarat: Labourers ‘chained to a motorbike, forced to dig well’ in Surendranagar; cops arrests 2

A day after two labourers were rescued, allegedly being held captive and forced to dig a well in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, police have arrested the farm owner and his partner on 2 October, reported Indian Express.

According to the report, the incident took place in Khakhrali village where four men, including a Dalit, were allegedly forced to dig a well. After the labourers expressed their unwillingness to do so, they were allegedly held captive, and chained to a motorbike at night, so that they can’t escape.

On Tuesday morning, both farmer Vanraj Govaliya and his partner Allanur Kathat were formally arrested, said Superintendent of Police (SP) of Surendranagar district Girish Pandya.

A case was registered against the farmers duo at Thangadh police station, and they were detained by the police on Monday under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the report added.

A dalit, Mukesh Rathod (34), filed a complaint against the farmers after which an FIR was registered. Rathod hails from Shethvadala village in Jamnagar district’s Jamjodhpur taluka.

Report says that on 24 September, Rathod had come to Rajkot in search of work. He was offered work for ?500 a day along with lodging and boarding facilities by a CNG rickshaw driver who identified himself as ‘Rajubhai’ on 26 September.

Rathod added that he got into Raju’s auto-rickshaw, where he mwt three other men inside, identified as Ravi Bhaduria, Vinod and Raju. All of them were taken to Khakhrali where they were received by Kathat.

Rathod in the complaint said that when they said Kathat that they wanted to leave as they did not like the work on September 27, but Kathat asked them to pay ?2,500 each to him as he paid Rajubhai ?2,500 for hiring each of them. When the abourers said they did not have money, Kathat allegedly ied them to a motorbike with the help of iron chains at night and accompanied them when they went out to answer nature’s call, said the report.

Meanwhile, two labourers — Bhaduria and Vinod — managed to escape on the intervening night of September 28 and 29. Bhaduria reached Thangadh police station and informed the police about the whole incident. Following this,the Thangadh police team raided Govaliya’s farm at 5 am on Monday and rescued Rathod and Raju.

“The four were supplied by a labour contractor four days ago and were promised a daily fixed wage. But they are saying that they were forced to do work against their wish and restrained wrongfully on the farm for mining coal. We have arrested two accused while Rajubhai, the driver of CNG auto-rickshaw, is still on the run,” SP Pandya told the Indian Express.

As per details, Govaliya, Kathat and Rajubhai were booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 343 (wrongful confinement for three or more days), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the IPC as well as under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Courtesy : Live mint

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