The Amritsar Police on Thursday rescued 16 children working as bonded labourers in a locked house for the last several months. The rescued children were in the age group of eight to 16 years.
The raid was conducted on the basis of specific information at Sultanwind locality of Amritsar where these children were literally confined to work as bonded laborer in highly unhygienic atmosphere, said police.
Police said that all the rescued children were confined within the four walls of the small house for manufacturing of artificial jewellery accessories. The rescued children told the police that they were never allowed to have adequate sleep and never given enough food. Medical facility was also a distant dream for them. The children were never allowed to go out.
It was routine matter for the owner of small scale industry running inside the house to beat up the children with iron rods when they failed to meet up the target of work assigned by evening, said police.
Police said that all children were brought here from Bihar by the accused, owner of the small scale industry, by showing dreams to their parents. The children’s life, however, had turned into a living hell as they were working in the small rooms which were like a dingy cell of prison house.
The accused Arvind, owner of the illegal small industry, is yet to be arrested even as a police party has been dispatched to look for him.