Kantabanji: Police rescued as many as 56 bonded labourers, including 23 women and eight children, when they were about to be transported to Hyderabad from Kantabanji railway station in Bolangir district late Friday night.
Acting on a tip-off, Kantabanji police conducted a raid at Kantabanji railway station and rescued the labourers. The investigation revealed that the labourers are from Barpali area in Bargarh district, Muribahal area in Bolangir district and Buden and Sinapali areas in Nuapada district.
The labourers said a middleman was taking them to Vishakhapatnam to engage them at a brick kiln. They were to board the Korba-Vishakhapatnam Link Express.
The middleman, however, managed to escape, taking advantage of darkness.
According to the rescued laboures, every year people leave Odisha for other states as bonded labourers as they don’t get enough work in their localities. This year, they were devoid of any work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So they had no other choice but to leave for Hyderabad.
Police have detained them at Kantabanji police station and a probe is underway.
PNN