‘Hum chor nahi hain.. uss samay mann kiya ki mar hi jaayein’: Women paraded in Ludhiana narrate horror

On Wednesday, purported videos of the alleged incident—which reportedly took place on Tuesday—from a garment factory in Ludhiana’s Bahadurke road went viral, prompting police to act swiftly.

Speaking with The Indian Express, the woman, a native of Uttar Pradesh, said, “I came to Ludhiana one year ago to earn my livelihood. For the past five months, my two nieces, my daughter and I have worked in this factory for Rs 8,000 monthly. That day, the owner accused us of stealing clothes from the factory. During lunchtime, we were called to his office, and he said ‘aap log chor ho‘ (you people are thieves). When we denied it, we were beaten blue and black with sticks and dragged out of the factory. A youth from our village, also employed at the garment factory, was called and we were thrashed like animals.”

“They snatched our phones. We kept crying ‘Hum chor nahi hai… hum chor nahi hai (we are not thieves)’. Soon, a man came and painted our faces black. Soon another man came holding placards with ‘main chor hoon‘ written on them. I kept begging to spare the girls at least. My elder niece is getting married soon. I kept begging the owner to please check CCTV cameras installed in the factory, and punish us if we were found stealing clothes, but he did not listen to us. We begged before him, folding our hands and touching his feet, but he showed no mercy,” the victim woman said.

“Hamara mooh kaala karke, humein idhar udhar galiyon mein ghumaya. Sab aas paas ke log tamasha dekhte rahe. Kisi ne nahi roka (after blackening our faces, they paraded us into the streets. People kept watching us, but no one came to our rescue). Instead, onlookers followed us, shouting ‘dekho chor aa gaye, chor aa gaye‘ (thieves have come),” she said and cried inconsolably.

The woman said compelled by the circumstances, she came to Ludhiana for work as her husband abandoned the family, leaving her to fend for herself.

Her daughter told The Indian Express, “I left my studies to support my mother. Bas uss samay to mann kiya ki mar hi jaayein..hum chor nahi hain (We felt we should have rather died. We are not thieves).”

Police identified the garment factory owner as Parwinder Singh, who runs ‘Deep Collection’ garment manufacturing unit. He is “still absconding”, but police arrested his two staffers Manpreet Singh, the factory manager, and Mohammad Kaish, a worker.

The trio was booked at the Basti Jodhewal police station under sections 127 (wrongful confinement), 356 (defamation), 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75 (sexual harassment), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy), and 3 (5) (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Basti Jodhewal SHO Inspector Jasbir Singh said: “We have formed teams to arrest the factory owner. He will be arrested soon. More sections may be added to the FIR as the probe progresses. We are yet to verify the ages of the three girls. Sections related to employing child labour will be added if they are found to be minors.”

State women panel chief, child rights body chief meet victims

Punjab State Commission For Women chairperson Raj Lali Gill and Punjab Child Rights Commission chairman Kanwardeep Singh visited the aggrieved family on Thursday.

They also met Ludhiana Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal and took stock of the probe.

Kanwardeep Singh said, “It is unfortunate that a minor girl was reportedly working in a factory. This factory owner has set a wrong precedent by giving Taliban-style punishment to the family. Our Constitution is supreme. No one can take the law into his hands. We are rescuing and rehabilitating child labourers working in factories across the state.”

Gill said, “I met the family and their statements have been recorded. The victims said they were brutally beaten up with sticks. They firmly said that they did not steal anything. They were humiliated to an extreme. Some persons from the factory broke open the door of their house and took away some clothes claiming they were stolen. When the girls said that they bought those clothes from a shop, then the clothes were returned. The accused also snatched their phones and watches. One girl is a minor. The accused also snatched their job cards. According to the victims, their two months’ salary is also pending. Heights of insensitivity was displayed in this case when onlookers instead of rescuing the family, recorded videos and hurled humiliating comments. Police have been directed to take action for all offences.”