Case primary details

Fact finding date

Case Incident details

Case summary

Sh. Raju Ogar S/o Sh. Asaram Ogar R/o Village – Kalmi, Police
Station- Maal Kharoda, Sub- Division- Maal Kharoda, District- Janjgir
Champa has filed a self Declaration to the above mentioned social action
group which revealed that;
a) That he belongs to the Satnami caste, which is a scheduled caste in the
state of Chhattisgarh.
b) That he and his family members were employed since the last five years
by M/s M.R.S. Brick Kiln, located in Village- Ferumaan, Sub-Division-
Baba Bakala, District-Amritsar, Punjab whose present owner is known
to the workers to be one Shri Sonu Maan. This firm is a Brick
Manufacturing Factory. The workers were employed as Brick Moulders.
After five years of working at this brick kiln, now he is working at some
other place.
c) That, in the month of July, 2015, the agent (Jamadar) of M/s. M.R.S. Brick
kiln named Hira Singh told Raju to bring some persons from his native
Chattisgarh for the purpose of working at this brick kiln. The agent Hira
Singh has also promised to give him 10 % jamadhari commission for this
work.
d) That the worker Raju went to his native place and in the month of
September, he congregated 40 persons from different villages and has
brought them to this brick kiln. Out of these forty workers, the names and
addresses of 28 workers are mentioned in Annexure A. Raju has stated
that he does not recall and is unable to gather the information of all 40
workers from Chhattisgarh.
e) That the bonded debt advanced to each family at the time of employment,
by the brick kiln owner and the bricks moulded by each family are also
mentioned in Annexure A.
f) That the brick kiln owner did not pay them their earned wages on the other
hand, when they fell sick, he did not give money for their medical
treatment. One brick kiln worker named Ajay was suffering from fever and
when he has demanded money from the brick kiln owner then he flatly
refused to give him money for his treatment.
g) That there is no facility of clean water, sanitation, toilets and washing
facilities at the brick kiln. The workers drinking the water of one hand pump
but water of that hand pump is so contaminated, that after drinking dirty
water so many workers have fallen ill.
h) That the brick kiln owner did not pay them their earned wages and only
paid them Rs.1500 per week and since then there has been no further
payment of wages. Instead of the paying the workers their due wages as
per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the brick kiln owner did not give them
their full wages. The workers mentioned in Annexure A hardly manage to
survive on the brick kiln and facing starving like situations. Finally, unable
to withstand the harsh working conditions and hunger, some of the
workers have taken their household items from the brick kiln and escaped
from the brick kiln.
i) That the brick kiln owner has detained the two family members in the brick
kiln and did not allow them to move anywhere, whose names and
addresses are mentioned in Annexure B.
j) That now, the brick kiln owner Sonu Maan and agent Heera Singh are
harassing and give threats to Raju Ogar and saying, to bring back all the
workers who have left the employment, otherwise he will file false and
frivolous complaints against him and will detain and kill him.
k) That now the brick kiln owner is demanding the bonded debt amount of
Rs. 2,00,000 (Rupees Two Lac) from the Raju.
l) That now the Worker Raju is working at some other place and the brick
kiln owner is continuously give threats to him and saying, if he does not
pay his debt amount then the brick kiln owner will not release the workers
who are detained by him at his kiln.
m) The brick kiln owner is threatening Raju that if he does not repay the
bonded debt them he will abduct Raju wherever he is and take Raju to
work at his brick kiln and not leave him till the bonded debt is paid off.
(3) That, the facts narrated in Paragraph 2, it is clear that the workers mentioned
in Annexure A were subjected to the bonded labour system as defined under
S. 2 (g) of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 [“BLSAA”]. The
employer has extracted labour from the workers in lieu of the debt advance
paid to them. Thereafter the workers were forced to work for wages well
below the minimum wages. The workers freedom to leave the brick kiln and
choose alternative employment was curtailed by the employer owing to the
bonded debt. Due to such deprivation and starvation, the workers had no
other choice but to escape from the brick kiln. The workers continue to be in
debt bondage in spite of having left the employment and some workers are
still under the captivity of the brick kiln owner at his brick kiln.
(4) That the brick kiln owner is in violation of the The Inter-State Migrant
Workmen (Regulation Of Employment And Condition Of Service) Act,
1979 having recruited workers without providing them decent working
conditions as mandated under the said Act.
(5) That, the brick kiln employer is also in violation of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 as S. 3 (1) (vi) makes
luring members of scheduled castes and extracting bonded labour a
punishable offence.
(6) That, the workers mentioned in the Annexes to the present petition, having
been transported from Chhattisgarh, recruited and subsequently exploited for
their labour at the said brick kiln, amounts to an offence of trafficking in human
beings under S. 370 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
(7) That no such complaint has been earlier made to this Honourable
Commission or any other commission or any court of law according to the information received from the victim.