Tribal teen kidnapped, told to harvest sugarcane in exchange for pending dues

Palghar district witnessed another horrific incident where an underprivileged tribal teenager was kidnapped by a Solapurbased sugarcane farmer and his two associates on November 1 for seeking pending wages The 19yearold complainant Sainath Tumbda was held captive for 53 hours in Karmala taluka in Solapur where he was allegedly subjected to physical assault and torture forcing him to work in his sugarcane field to harvest the cash crop in return for his pending wages of Rs 5000After the quick intervention of local social activists the Manor police were informed and the cops rescued the teenager On November 5 an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code Bonded Labour Abolition Act Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act were registered against three men including the sugarcane farmer who owns nearly 15 acres of land where the cash crop is grown in Solapur district However no arrest has been made so farFather recalls incidentAfter Tumbdarsquos father Asaram learnt about the kidnapping he contacted sugarcane farmer Sundardas Kesarkar to set him free or else he would file a police complaint against him a social activist told midday ldquoBut Kesarkar threatened Asaram saying that if he went to the police he would face dire consequences as he would not give a second thought about killing his sonrdquo said Swapnil Wagh a social activist based in Vikramgarh taluka of Palghar districtThe youth and one of the 12 tribals who worked on Sundardas Kesarkarrsquos plot the 19yearold and his relatives PicsHanif PatelTalking exclusively with midday Asaram said ldquoWe were constructing a road when Kesarkar called my son telling him to meet him near Mastan Naka bridge in Manor where he would be paid his dues My son reached the spot on November 1 around 1130 am on his motorcyclerdquo ldquoThe moment he arrived Kesarkar and his two associates Hanuman Kamble and Rupya bundled my son into their car One of his associates rode my sonrsquos motorcycle while the duo sat in the car and they reached Solapurrdquo Asaram saidTumbda lives with his extended family members in Palghar district and all of them are unlettered daily wage earners ldquoIt is the reason the oppressors exploit them and force them to work as bonded labourersrdquo said WaghSainathrsquos statementLast year many people went to work on Kesarkarrsquos sugarcane farm to harvest the cash crop in Solapur In the FIR the complainant Sainath told the Manor police ldquoIn September 2022 Kesarkar needed at least 12 labourers to harvest sugarcane in his Solapurbased farm At that time Kesarkar had fixed a daily wage at R275 for harvesting a tonne of sugarcanerdquoldquoSo all the 12 labourers started the work in October 2022 and continued till January 2023 We harvested 2500 tonnes of sugarcane and returned to our village in February 2023 After reaching my home district I called Kesarkar to give my remuneration for my hard work but he paid only R169 lakh The remaining amount is still duerdquo reads the FIRldquoFrom February 2023 to September 2023 we were working as daily wagers wherever we could find the opportunity From October 26 my father and I began working at the site of an ongoing highway project in Dhuktanrdquo he added Narrating his ordeal he stated ldquoI was kidnapped by Kesarkar Kamble and Rupya who took me to Solapur I was subjected to physical assault They also made castebased slurs and threatsThey told me that I was a fool I was kept under a close watch till 430 pm on November 3rdquo ldquoWhen I asked Kesarkar the reasons behind his actions he told me lsquoYou and your family members have neglected sugarcane harvesting work and left without letting me knowrsquordquo said Sainath in his statementWhen Sainath reportedly told Kesarkar that he had been taken to Solapur against his will when he had come to collect his wages the accused replied ldquoYou tribal people will never improvehellip you take money in advance but will never complete the work You are a stupid personrdquo When contacted the Superintendent of Police Palghar Balasaheb Patil said ldquoThe teenager has been rescued by our team and we have registered an FIR against three men Our investigations are underway and no arrest has been made so farrdquolsquoA matter of shamersquoThe chairman of the Tribal Development Review Committee Vivek Pandit said ldquoIt is a matter of great shame that the Katkari community a primitive tribe is still being oppressed in India It is just because the Tribal Development Department has no spine to work to uplift the downtrodden community The people working in the department in Maharashtra have failed miserablyrdquoldquoHow shameful it is that this teenager was kidnapped by a sugarcane farm owner when he demanded his wages Sainath was supposed to receive R5000 but instead of paying his remuneration he was kidnapped and told to harvest sugarcane in exchange for his dues This is unbelievablerdquo he addedldquoSince the government is not providing enough facilities to tribals they migrate to other districts in search of livelihood and landlords oppress them exploit their poverty and force them to work as bonded labourers This is nothing but an utter shamerdquo Pandit saidAccusedrsquos versionKesarkar told midday ldquoThe allegations are baseless and incorrect They have taken a huge chunk of money but they are refusing to harvest sugarcane I am here at the Manor police station to cooperate with the copsrdquoNov 5Day FIR was registered