NHRC notice to UP Govt, DGP over assault on 12 labourers

The NHRC on Thursday said it has issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state’s police chief in a case of alleged atrocities against 12 bonded labourers at a factory in Muzaffarnagar district. The human rights panel has sought a detailed report from the authorities in two weeks.

In a statement, the National Human Rights Commission said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about “12 bonded labourers being assaulted in captivity and forced to work till midnight without sufficient food and wages for nearly one and a half years at a paper plate manufacturing factory in Mandi village in Muzaffarnagar district”.

One of the labourers managed to escape from the factory and a complaint was filed with the Titawi police station, leading to the rescue of the other labourers, it said.