Bhubaneswar: The 17 women labourers of Koraput district who were rescued from a brick kiln in Telangana after being held captive for nearly three months have finally returned home.
According to sources, the women labourers of Laxmipur block of the district returned to their families after being safely rescued by officials of local police and Labour department.
Six out of the 17 women labourers are stated to be minor and they have been handed over to the Child protection cell of the district while the rest have returned to their respective homes.
It may be noted that two contractors of Rayagada district had lured the women labourers to provide them lucrative jobs within 50 kms of their villages but took them to a brick kiln in Telangana.
"The women were working as bonded labourers at the brick kiln and were staying in thatched houses. They were held captive by the owner of the kiln," said Hemanta Majhi, a police official of Laxmipur police station.
He further added, "In the presence of our labour inspector, officials of Shadnagar police station and the local labour department, we rescued the girls from the kiln."
On the other hand, Koraput district labour inspector Padma Charan Panda said, "It is unfortunate that despite widespread awareness on labour migration, youths get lured to go to other cities in search of work."