Trafficking horror averted: 20 labourers, including children, rescued in Bolangir

In a major crackdown on illegal labour trafficking, the Belpada Police on Sunday rescued as many as 20 migrant labourers, including four children, who were allegedly being transported unlawfully to another state from Bolangir district to work as bonded labourers.

Also Read: Migrant worker from Odisha 'tied with wires, beaten to death' in Chennai

Police have also arrested a contractor, identified as the key accused behind the trafficking attempt.

According to official sources, all rescued individuals belong to the Gudvela locality of Bolangir district, an area that has long struggled with distress migration.

Police said that the group was being moved without proper documentation or permissions, raising serious concerns of exploitation under the illegal Dadan (bonded labour) system.

Authorities have initiated a further probe to identify additional persons involved in the illegal trafficking network and to ensure rehabilitation support for the rescued labourers.

Worth mentioning, earlier in another incident, a man from Kumunia village under Ghasipura police limits in Keonjhar district, working in Chennai as a migrant labourer, was found dead under mysterious circumstances, sources said on May 1 this year.

The deceased was identified as Madhusudan Naik (30).

The migrant worker’s family had alleged that he was brutally beaten to death. A photograph showing Madhusudan’s hands tied with wire and his blood-soaked body was sent to them alongside news of his death.

Madhusudan’s family had received the instruction to collect his body from local authorities in Chennai, who had recovered the same from a forest area. However, the family’s financial inability had hampered their attempts to bring the body back home.

Despite repeated pleas, the bereaved family had allegedly received no support from the local administration in Chennai or the Odisha Labour Department. As a result, the body was reportedly cremated in Chennai itself.