RAIPUR: Over 400 villagers from Mahasamund district have been rescued by the Chhattisgarh government officials when they were being transported outside the state, a senior official said on Friday.
"Over 400 villagers, including 92 women and about 135 children were rescued from the clutches of five contractors in Raipur city last night when they were being taken to Lucknow, Jammu and Kashmir, and Nagpur," State Labour Secretary B L Agrawal said here on Friday.
On information that they are being transported to other states from Pithora area of Mahasamund district, a joint party of Labour Department, police and civil administration raided three huge container vehicles, normally used to transport new vehicles, and rescued over 400 villagers, said Additonal Labour Commissioner Savita Mishra.
Mishra, who led the raid, said that they had inputs of 'human trafficking' following which they detained four containers and one Bolero vehicle and over 400 villagers were rescued in Raipur city from those vehicles.
"In three locked containers over 400 villagers, with their belongings, were being taken to Durg Railway Station by five contractors from the Mahasamund district, to send them to various destinations, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir", she said.
The drivers of all the three containers and the driver of a Bolero vehicle, which was guiding them from Mahasamund to Durg, were arrested, Mishra said.
"All the villagers were put inside the containers which did not have have sufficient ventilation or light and were being transported like animals," she said.
A case has been registered and the vehicles have been seized, Mishra said.
Anyone taking more than five labourers from one place to another has to obtain a licence from the State Labour Department and the five contractors, who were taking them outside the state are not having that mandatory licence, Labour Department sources said.
Again, the contractor needs to deposit with the Department RS 150 against each labourer he is taking with him from the village and for their transport but in this case this law too was violated, the sources said.
