The Kalahandi Additional District and Sessions Judge Court on Saturday sentenced to life the eight accused persons and imposed fine of Rs20,000 on each of them for chopping off the hands of two migrant workers on December 15, 2013 in Balangir district.
Notably, the right hands of two migrant labourers, Dialu Nial (30) and Nilambar Dhangdamajhi (28), who belong to Kalahandi district, had been severed by a labour contractor and his accomplices.
The contractor had paid an advance of Rs14,000 each to the 12 labourers, including five women, from different villages in Kalahandi district to work in a brick kiln in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the contractor forcibly tried to take them to Raipur instead of AP. later, except Nial and Dhangdamajhi, other labourers managed to escape when the group had halted at Sinapali in neighbouring Nuapada district on December 9.
The contractor and his accomplices had allegedly held the duo captive in Nuapada and chopped off their hands.