: 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
That bonded labour was practised in the district came to light recently when one of the workers, who toiled for 20 days, escaped from the clutches of the gang by scaling the fence, and informed the police.
The workers were allegedly held captive in sheds, taken to the fields for work and beaten up when wages were demanded.
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.''
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohini Sindhuri said most of the labourers were from the districts of Hassan, Haveri and Raichur in Karnataka; and four of them from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The workers were held captive in Sakanahalli village in Dudda Hobli of the district and allegedly beaten up when they demanded wages for the job done.
The district administration has sent a proposal to the Karnataka government to grant a compensation of Rs 71 lakh to the victims and each one of them has been given Rs 5,000 to return home, the police official said.
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