Another minor rescued as bonded labour from Shalimar Bagh, second in two months

As part of the continuous national campaign to eradicate the bonded labour and to rescue bonded labours across India, a team comprising of social activist Mr. Nirmal Gorana, Convener of National Campaign Committee for the Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), Delhi Police Sub Inspector (SI) Pankaj Kumar, lawyer associated with Socio-Legal Information Centre — Harini Raghupathy, Sophia from Women Welfare Society (WWS) rescued a minor girl on Wednesday (24th October, 2018,) from Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh. The minor girl, who was employed as a bonded labour at house in Shalimar Bagh, was trafficked from Gumala district in Jarkhand. The minor girl was produced before SDM, Saraswati Vihar Office and National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) on 25th October 2018. An FIR has been registered against the accused by the Delhi Police. The convener of the NCCEBL, Mr. Nirmal Gorana said, “The minor was a bonded labourer and is a victim of ‘forced to labour’. The minor girl’s employers had also restricted her movements. The concerned authority should release her with certificate along with interim relief amount”. The two minor girls and one adult rescued as bonded labourers were produced before Sub-divisional magistrate and National commission for Women and Children on 25th October. The minors were provided with temporary shelter, however they refused to give shelter to the adult woman," Nirmal Gorana said. Bonded labour is another form of modern-day slavery that has spread its tentacles in India. Bonded labour is any kind of labour or service rendered under the bonded labour system. It is illegal in all of its forms. The Bonded Labour System (abolition) Act, 1976 provides definitions as what constitutes “bonded labour” according to the law. It is said that a bonded labourer is a labourer who incurs or has presumed to have incurred a bonded debt. A bonded debt is an advance obtained/presumed to have been obtained by a bonded labourer under or in pursuance of the bonded labour system restrictions in employment and movement, working on nominal or no wages and beggar work. This is the second case in which a joint team of NCCEBL, lawyers associated with SLIC; Women Welfare Society (WWS), including Delhi police team, had rescued bonded labourers from the same residence. On the intervening night of 21st September and 22nd September 2018, the rescued team had rescued two bonded labourers one minor and one adult. While leveling allegations of misconduct by their employers, the duo had reportedly said “When the police and NCCEBL, SLIC and WWSD team arrived at their employer’s residence to rescue them on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, they were still locked up inside their room and were later forced to stay on the roof”. So, a total of three labourers have been bonded labour have been rescued from BN-63 (West) Shalimar Bagh. Among the three labourers, one is adult and two are minors. The adult lady was trafficked from West Bengal to New Delhi and the two minors were trafficked from Gumala District, Jurkhand to New Delhi. Both the cases are subjected to trafficking and bonded labour. So far more than thousands of the bonded labourers have been rescued under the NCCEBL initiatives. Earlier, in their complaint to Shalimar Bagh police station, the rescued woman — identified as Tara Garji from West Bengal, and the minor tribal girl from Jharkhand said that they were trafficked to Delhi and placed under an employment agency. They were soon employed as domestic workers by the residents of BN-63 (West) Shalimar Bagh, who are Deepika, Kamya, Sandeep, and Sanju. Her principal employer was Amit Singhal. The minor girl has identified Vikram as the person, who had trafficked her from Jharkhand.