: As many as 52 bonded labourers, including 17 women and four children, from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been rescued in Hassan district, police said.
A gang of five people has been arrested and booked under the Bonded Labour Act, Prevention of Atrocities on SC/ST Act and various IPC sections, superintendent of police (Hassan district) A N Prakash Gowda told PTI
Meanwhile, the news triggered an angry reaction from BJP national president Amit Shah who tweeted, "Shocking that members from Dalit and tribal communities were enslaved and made to suffer in the most inhuman conditions, but the Congress-JDS government is busy with cabinet expansion! People are watching. I urge our karyakartas to help the people in distress.''