16 bonded workers rescued in raids
In a major breakthrough, the sleuths of Delhi police busted a gang involved in human trafficking and forceful bonded labour and have arrested three persons. During the raid, police rescued over 16 bonded labours, including seven minors.
The arrested have been identified as Rambilas Paswan (32) and Anita Paswan (26), both hailing from Ranjit Nagar in Delhi, and Suresh Chakma (27) from Tripura.
Probe reveals the Patel Nagar police along with jurisdictional police of
All the rescued persons hail from remote areas of Assam, Tripura and Jharkhand
3 held under anti-trafficking laws
Ranjit Nagar conducted a joint rescue operation (consisting of a combined team of revenue department, labour department, health department, NGOs, and officers of Assam and Jharkhand Bhawan) in Ranjit Nagar on August 17. A raid was conducted at the premises of the RB Placement Agency which was engaged in the business of providing domestic help in Ranjit Nagar. As a result of the operation, seven bonded labours including two minors and five majors were rescued.
The alleged agency was being run by Rambilas Paswan and at the time of raid, the owner was not present in his office. Consequently, a case was registered under Sections 323, 344, 354, 370, 374, and 506/34 of the IPC, 16/17 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and 75/79 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
The police said that as it was a sensitive issue and the alleged persons were found absconding, therefore, a special team carried out several raids in association with an NGO. As a result, nine more persons including three women, a man and five children were rescued from various places in Delhi and nearby states including Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. All the rescued persons hail from remote areas of Assam, Tripura, and Jharkhand.
In their statements before the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), the rescued persons stated that they were taken to Delhi on the pretext of providing them with good jobs and handsome salaries.