25 Odia workers rescued from Chennai factory
Migrants rescued from Chennai
BHUBANESWAR: The state government with the help of its counterparts from Tamil Nadu on Tuesday rescued a group of Odia labourers who were allegedly held hostage by their employer in Chennai and not allowed to return to Odisha.
The Odisha government came to know about the plight of these trapped labourers from a video which had gone viral on social media on Monday. The person who shared the video on social media had drawn the attention of the Odisha government, Chennai police, social workers and popular Ollywood actor Sabyasachi Mishra. In the video, the employer was seen brutally assaulting the labourers and abusing them over some wage-related dispute.
“We contacted the Tamil Nadu labour department and Chennai police and sought their assistance to free the abused labourers. The Chennai police promptly intervened and rescued the labourers, who were about 25 in number. A complaint was lodged at Kundrathur police station in Chennai. The police have detained the accused for interrogation,” N Thirumala Naik, the Odisha labour commissioner said.
Naik said the Utkal Association of Madras, a body of non-resident Odias in Chennai, also extended help to the labourers. Steps are being taken to bring the rescued labourers back to Odisha.
Tamil Nadu’s director general of police J K Tripathy, who is from Odisha, said the local deputy commissioner of police has been entrusted to conduct an inquiry. “All the labourers have been safely rescued. Legal action would be initiated against the suspect on the basis of the DCP’s inquiry,” Tripathy said.
In a related development, the Odisha government rescued several migrant labourers of Nabarangpur district from Telangana on Monday. They too were tortured and assaulted by a brick kiln owner and not allowed to return to their villages. “With the help of Telangana police and labour department officials, all the workers are being brought to Nabarangpur,” Naik said. The bureaucrat said the state government has been keeping a close watch on the condition of labourers in other states during the pandemic.
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