Five minor bonded labourers rescued in TN

In a shocking case, five child bonded labourers were rescued by officials with the revenue department of Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu. All the five children hail from Sithalingamadam village near Thirukoilur in Villupuram district.

According to Times of India (ToI), the rescue operation was a joint initiative by the revenue department, the National Adivasi Solidarity Council (NASC) and the International Justice Mission (IJM) which was prompted by information about the five labourers.

Official working under NASC said, "We got information about these children through a tip which we received during an awareness campaign. These children were engaged in bonded labour by a farmer in Paramakudi and were paid Rs 5,000 while the families of the remaining two children were paid Rs 15,000 each."

"The children were given only breakfast and made to sleep in the open with the cattle. All they owned was a bed sheet, an extra set of clothes and a stick," the official added.

The farmer has been booked under under sections 10 (i), 16, 17 and 18 of the Bonded labour system (abolition) act along with sections 370 and 374 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various relevant sections of the Child Care and Protection Act.