39 bonded labourers rescued from goshala in Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Thirty-nine bonded labourers, belonging to 15 families from Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district, were rescued from a goshala (cattle shelter) in Devandavakkam village of Tiruvallur district on Monday. The victims had been lured to the facility with false promises of good wages and free accommodation.

The issue came to light on Sunday when the labourers approached the local police, seeking help to return to their native village. They told the police that they had reached the goshala on May 5 after the owner paid them an advance of Rs 75,000 and promised a daily wage of Rs 700 per couple - Rs 400 for men and Rs 300 for women- along with food and accommodation in the facility. However, the workers claimed they were not paid a single rupee since their arrival and were subjected to routine physical and verbal abuse. When they finally demanded their wages, they were reportedly assaulted and chased away.

Following the complaint, the police alerted the revenue department and the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). “We conducted an inspection at the goshala and found the workers' claims to be genuine. Some of the labourers, including women, had been beaten up, while a few sustained injuries while operating the fodder-cutting machine,” Tiruvallur DLSA secretary K Nalini said, who was part of the One Stop One Crisis Team.

Revenue Divisional Officer Ravichandran told TOI that the labourers were forced to work for long hours, denied permission to leave the premises, and left unpaid for 25 days. “We will initiate strict legal action against the goshala owner under the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act,” the RDO said. He added that authorities are opening bank accounts for each victim to deposit Rs 35,000 as immediate relief assistance under a Central Sponsored Scheme, and arrangements are being made to send them back to their native place on Tuesday.