The reconstituted Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Cuttack district on Friday rescued a minor boy, who was working as a bonded labourer in the house of a couple from whom his parents had taken a loan and were unable to repay.
“Following a complaint, we rescued the 10-year-old boy and handed him over to his grandparents as the boy’s parents are now working outside,” said CWC chairperson Bikash Mohapatra.
The couple has given an undertaking not to repeat the same again and doled out an amount of `15,000 for rehabilitation and academic expenses of the boy, Mohapatra informed.
According to reports, the child’s father of local Balubazar was eking out a living by doing petty errands to support a family of five, including three children. He had taken a loan of `40,000 from the couple and failed to repay it.
Unable to get back the money, the couple last month had picked up the boy and engaged him as their domestic help, said CWC Member Pradeep Kumar Patnaik.