13 Labourers Rescued From Muzaffarnagar Factory After Months Of Captivity & Abuse

Muzaffarnagar: For around a year, the factory gates were not just an entrance. For 13 labourers trapped inside a Muzaffarnagar unit manufacturing disposable bowls and plates, they were a prison wall guarded by pit bull dogs.

Lured from bus stands and railway stations with promises of jobs, regular wages and decent food, the workers say they instead found themselves living through a nightmare of hunger, violence and captivity.

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Among those rescued by police this week were two minors aged 16 and 17.

For 11 months, Jagdish dreamed of going home. Instead, he says, every time he asked to leave, he was beaten.

"They kept me captive for 11 months," said Jagdish, a resident of Sitapur, fighting back tears after being rescued from a factory in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district. "Whenever I said I wanted to go home and could not continue working, they would beat me with belts. My salary was fixed at Rs 12,000, but I never received any money. We were forced to work day and night. We barely got any sleep."

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The scars of those months remain visible.

The labourers allege they were brought to the factory after being promised monthly salaries of Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 for making dona-pattal, disposable bowls and plates used across north India. But soon after they arrived, their mobile phones, Aadhaar cards and other identity documents were confiscated, effectively cutting them off from their families.

Ramu, rescued worker from Nainital said: "I had been here for two months and 20 days. We were not given proper food. We got rotis made from cattle feed. I never got to eat vegetables there. They did not allow us to speak to our families."

He said: "My Aadhaar card was burned. They snatched my mobile phone. They beat us with belts and iron rods. The owner carried a pistol and threatened us, saying, 'Don't tell anyone anything. If someone comes here, I will kill you too and throw your body away.'"

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Then began a routine that workers say continued day after day.

From early morning until late into the night, they were allegedly forced to work without rest. There were no wages, they claim. There was barely any food.

"We were often fed only once a day," one rescued worker told investigators. "Sometimes we remained hungry for nearly 24 hours. When food came, it was usually a rough roti made from cattle feed."

The workers allege that asking for wages, food or medical treatment invited brutal punishment.

According to police, several labourers reported being beaten with fan belts, sticks and heated iron rods. Medical examinations found fractures, deep wounds and other serious injuries on some of the rescued workers.

Fear, they say, was enforced not only through violence but also through intimidation.

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One pit bull was stationed inside the factory gate and another outside the premises, workers alleged. The dogs, combined with regular beatings, ensured that few dared to think about escape.

"Nobody could run away. We were terrified of the dogs and the men who beat us," a worker reportedly told investigators.

The ordeal came to light only after one labourer managed to escape and reach police. Acting on his information, a joint team of police, labour department officials and district authorities raided the unit and rescued 13 workers.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Verma said the victims were recruited from different states and Nepal on the promise of employment. Instead, they were allegedly confined inside the factory and prevented from contacting their families.

"Their phones were seized and they were not allowed to leave the premises. The injury marks on their bodies corroborate the allegations of abuse," Verma said.

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Police arrested Shiva Tyagi, 26, and Pradeep Baliyan, 30, while factory operator Ankit Baliyan remains absconding.

Officials said the rescued workers came from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Many alleged they were denied treatment even when they fell seriously ill.

For months, perhaps longer, the labourers say they survived on hunger, fear and the hope that someone would find them.

That hope arrived only when one of them slipped past the guards, escaped the factory and told police what was happening behind the locked gates.

The raid that followed ended what investigators describe as a bonded labour racket. For the 13 workers rescued this week, it also marked their first day of freedom in months.

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