Acting prompt against a complaint received from rights activists that migrant labourers of Chhattisgarh engaged in a brick kiln at Ayodhya under Nilgiri block are being tortured both physically and mentally, a team headed by Nilgiri Sub-Collector Aboli S Narvane after rescuing as many as 37 labourers from the kiln sent them to their native town on Tuesday night by train.
The District labour Officer and the local tehsildar were present during the raid. DlO K Behera said that the labourers were members of nine families and each family was given Rs 5,000 by the brick kiln owner before they were sent back.
Behera, however, said that only 27 adult members were engaged in the kiln works and children although were with their parents, they were not working .
“The middle woman of Chhattisgarh who had brought the labourers here is absconding. We are in touch with our counterparts at Chhattisgarh,” said Narvane.
According to sources, these labourers, native of Bilaspur and its neighbourings, had come to Nilgiri in the first week of October through a middleperson. 11 families while had come to the place to work in brick kilns , two of them had escaped.
One of the escaped persons Ganga Prasad Khosla (60) had brought their plights to the notice of the rights activists.
He had alleged tortures including overtime working, inhuman treatment and sexual harassment to the female members.
Soon after the compliant was received, action was initiated. The DlO would take the needful action including prosecuting the brick kiln owner, said District Collector Pramod Das.