Maharashtra: 13 bonded labourers rescued, five out of 11 gang members held

The police have rescued 13 persons employed as bonded labourers in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar and arrested five of the 11 gang members in the matter, the police said

The police have rescued 13 persons employed as bonded labourers in Shrigonda taluka of Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, and arrested five of the 11 gang members in connection with the matter, an official said on Tuesday, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, the victims are homeless people whom the gang members brought to Belvandi in Shrigonda from various railway stations to carry out their household tasks, he said.

This came to light days after the body of an unidentified man was found stuffed in a bag near Suregaon village in Ahmednagar on November 30.

Ahmednagar district Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ola said that while probing the murder, they received a tip-off that a gang had employed several persons as bonded labourers to carry out their household work, to rear cattle and to work in the farm, as per the PTI.

The victims were homeless people who the accused found at various railway stations in the country. The accused were in the habit of beating up the victims. They would also not offer food to them many a time, and lace their eatables with ganja, he said, according to the PTI.

Whenever the alleged gang members were away to commit crimes like dacoity and house break-ins, the victims used to do the domestic chores, the official said.

After the police received information about the gang, they formed four teams to trace them and nabbed five out of the total 11 members.

"The police raided eight locations and rescued 13 bonded labourers, including a woman," he said, the PTI reported on Tuesday.

Offences under sections 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc), 342 (wrongful confinement), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act was registered against them, he said.

The 11 accused were identified as Charusheeela Raghunath Chavan, Raghunath Chavan, Zilur Chavan, Amol Giriraj Bhosale, Aba Jalindar Kale, Dalkush Mukinda Kale, Nandu Kilchand Ghavane, Sagar Sudham Gavhane, Abbas Sambaji Gavhane, Sachin Jaisingh Gavhane, and Kaluram Patilba Pawar, the official said, the news agency reported.

(with PTI inputs)

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