A minor, who worked as a farmer's bonded labourer for five years in lieu of Rs 5,000 loan to his paralysed father, was rescued from Jhadbida village in Madhya Pradesh's Timarni block, some 40 km from here, an official said today.
"As soon as information came in, the matter was probed since it was related to bonded child labour. The 14-year-child Santhram was rescued and handed over to his family yesterday. The accused farmer Kanhiyalal Bhandari has been held and is being interrogated. If investigations prove that Bhandari guilty, he will face criminal prosecution," District Collector Rajneesh Shrivastava told PTI today.
After walking free, Santhram said that he was delighted that his family's loan has been waived off.
"I want to study and the government should help us come out of economic distress," he told reporters.
After Santhram's rescue, his father Bhagirath (70) who is crippled after suffering a paralytic attack told reporters that he took a loan of Rs 5,000 along with six quintals of wheat from Bhandari. When he was unable to pay back the debt, he mortgaged his son Santhram to the farmer five years ago, he said.
"District authorities have freed my son and the farmer has waived off the loan. I am sick," Bhagirath, a resident of Jhadbida village told reporters.
The rescued boy's mother Sukiya Bai said they had mortgaged their son since there was no other way out, adding that she was happy to find her son in their midst and she would be more than happy if the government provided them financial assistance for survival.
"Bhagirath had taken a loan of Rs 5,000 from me and his son Santhram worked for me," the accused farmer Kanhiyalal said.
Meanwhile, Vishnu Prasad Jaiswal of a non-governmental organisation called Synergy alleged that as many a 2,000 bonded child labourers work in 576 villages across the district.
The government should begin a drive to free as well as rehabilitate them, he said.
