Three Odia minor boys detained, tortured in Tamil Nadu

Bolangir: Three minor boys from Rahenmal village under Gudvella block in Bolangir, who had gone to Tamil Nadu for work, have been allegedly tortured and detained illegally by some unidentified miscreants.

The matter came to light after three other teenagers somehow managed to escape from the clutches of the unknown persons and narrated the ordeal after reaching the State.

Meanwhile, family members of the detainees met the Bolangir district Collector and SP after they received unknown phone calls demanding Rs 50,000 ransom to free them. The families requested the officials to take steps to ensure the safe return of the minor boys.

According to reports, a middleman who is yet to be identified lured the six minor boys to jobs at a garment company and took them to Tirrupur in Tamil Nadu.

Sources said after taking them to Tamil Nadu, the boys were kept under house arrest in a secluded place. Although three of them managed to flee the spot, the other three are still stranded there.

“They took us to Tamil Nadu for job at a garment company. However, they used to thrash us. Unable to bear the torture, we three ran away from there. They had planned to kill us,” said a minor boy who managed to escape.

On the other hand, a family member of the stranded boys, Bishnu Rana alleged, “I received an unknown phone call. They demanded Rs 50,000 and gave me a bank account number for depositing the ransom money for their release.”

“After getting the details of the company, we will inform the Labour Commissioner. We will apprise the matter to Tiruppur Collector through Bolangir Collector and request them to take appropriate steps for the release of the teenagers,” informed district labour officer Suresh Chandra Behera.