Labourers ‘chained’, ‘forced to dig well’ in Gujarat’s Surendranagar, 2 arrested

Along with Vanraj and Allanur, an autorickshaw driver from Rajkot, Rajubhai, were booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 343 (wrongful confinement for three or more days), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the IPC as well as under the Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The FIR was lodged on Monday morning on the basis of a complaint filed by Mukesh Rathod (34), a Dalit, who is a native of Shethvadala village in Jamnagar’s Jamjodhpur taluka.

According to the FIR, Mukesh had come to Rajkot in search of Work on September 24. On September 26 evening, while Mukesh was near Greenland Chowkadi, Rajubhai offered Rs 500 per day to him for labour work along with lodging and boarding facilities.

Following this, Mukesh got into Raju’s autorickshaw, inside which three other men – Ravi Bhaduria, Vinod and Raju – were sitting. Rajubhai took the four to Khakhrali where they were received by Allanur, the FIR added.

In his complaint, Mukesh said they were asked to dig a well for mining coal on September 27. However, as they didn’t like the work, the four labourers told Allanur that they wanted to leave. However, Allanur, as per the FIR, told the quartet that he had paid Rajubhai Rs 2,500 for hiring each of them and that they were free if they paid him back. When the labourers said they didn’t have money, Allanur told them that they will have to work before they are allowed to go.

The FIR further said that Allanur would tie them to a motorbike with iron chains at night and also accompany them when they would go out to answer nature’s call.

Ravi and Vinod, however, managed to escape on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Ravi managed to make his way to Thangadh police station, around 12 km away. A team from Thangadh police raided Vanraj’s farm at 5 am on Monday and rescued Mukesh and Raju, the police said.

“The four were supplied by a labour contractor four days ago and were promised a daily fixed wage. But they are saying that they were forced to do work and restrained wrongfully on the farm. We have arrested two accused while Rajubhai is on the run,” Pandya said.

The SP added that the police have written to the state mines and minerals department in connection with the case, as he said, police suspect that the accused were prima facie trying to mine coal illegally.

Vishwaraj Jadeja, in charge deputy superintendent of police (SC-ST Cell) of Surendranagar, said the land on which the laoburers were asked to dig a well belongs to Vanraj. “While the four were asked to dig a well on a piece of farmland, the well is actually being dug for mining carbocell illegally,” said Jadeja, adding that Allanur is Vanraj’s partner in the illegal coal mining attempt.