Forty-eight male bonded labourers from West Bengal and Haryana in the age group of 20 to 30 were rescued from an incense stick-manufacturing unit by revenue officials along with a team of the International Justice Mission (IJM) – a non-governmental organisation – from Kandili village in Tirupattur taluk on Thursday night.
D. Rajasekharan, tahsildar, Tirupattur told The Hindu that on information from the IJM, he along with other revenue officials and representatives of the IJM went to Kandili on Thursday night. The labourers were working there for the last two years had been mobilised in Delhi and taken to various work spots through an agent. They were divided into two groups, and one group was taken to Bangalore and the other group to Kandili to work in incense stick units. The tahsildar said that the workers told him that they were paid their wages only when they wanted to visit their native places. They have been accommodated in a marriage hall in Kandili.
The owner of the unit has promised to settle their dues if they decided to go back to their native places, he said.
