"They kept us in a cage, chained us like animals, snatched our phones, made us work from five in the morning till midnight, and then drugged us so that we don't ask for food or money," said Amol Nimbalkar, over the phone, as he nervously sat next to a well near his home in Maharashtra's Washim district.
This well reminded him of a similar one almost 400 km away in Dhoki — a village in the dry and drought-prone district of Osmanabad, also in Maharashtra.
It was in Dhoki that Nimbalkar, a 22-year-old daily wage labourer, was held captive allegedly by contractors, in inhumane conditions, and deployed to dig wells on private lands.
On 20 June, the Osmanabad police busted the racket and rescued 11 labourers. Nimbalkar, who The Quint spoke to, was one of them.
An FIR was subsequently registered at the Dhoki police station against seven people under sections 370 (trafficking), 367 (kidnapping and abduction of minors), 345 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (causing hurt using dangerous weapons), 504 (provocation), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (act done by multiple people with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The labourers were kept chained in cage like rooms.
(Illustration: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
Osmanabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Atul Kulkarni told The Quint, "Most of these people were lured on the pretext of a day job and held captive at this site for the last two-three months. They are migrant labourers and had come from different parts of the state. Most didn't even have mobile phones. So, their families didn't expect any calls from them."
The story of the rescue of these labourers mirrors a Hindi-film subplot.
A 'Miraculous' Escape
At his home in Hingoli's Shengaon taluka, Ashok Ghukse is a worried man. His 18-year-old son, Bhagwan Ghukse, has not uttered a word in over 24 hours. Bhagwan was one of the 11 workers who were held captive by contractors in Osmanabad.
It was, however, his miraculous escape from the site that paved the way for a police crackdown on the racket.
"Bhagwan left home for work over two months ago. His cousin Sandip was with him at the time. A lot of young men from our village migrate to towns in search of work in the summers. They come back after a few months. On 16 June, however, some villagers came to our house and told us that Bhagwan is in the village and is going around like a madman," Ashok told The Quint.
On 15 June, Bhagwan managed to escape the construction site early in the morning when the workers were set free to use toilets.
"It was only when we used the toilets that they would remove the chains but we were always heavily drugged and underfed, so running away wasn't even a thought that occurred to most of us," Nimbalkar said.
Despite the odds, Bhagwan managed to escape. He explained what happened with him to his family in Hingoli, and they alerted the local Police who then coordinated with officials in Osmanabad and the labourers were rescued.
(Illustration: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
Despite the odds, Bhagwan managed to escape. His village is 200 km away from Osmanabad, and it took him a days to reach home.
When Ashok met his son in the village a day after his escape, he couldn't believe what he saw. "His entire body was wounded. He was going from door to door searching for my brother whose son was still held captive at that site. His speech was incoherent, and he had lost a lot of weight," recalled Ashok.
Once Bhagwan explained what happened with him to his family in Hingoli, they alerted the local Police who then coordinated with officials in Osmanabad and the labourers were rescued.
The Modus Operandi
Youngest among his four siblings, Nimbalkar belongs to a landless family in Washim. Men in his family and the village migrate to the cities in large numbers in search of work during the summers.
"For a large part of the year, we try to find work in or near our village where we work as daily wage labourers in the fields. In the summers, however, the fields are dry and work isn't plenty. That is when we move to the cities," he told The Quint.
This summer, Nimbalkar, unaware of what awaited him, chose to migrate to Ahmednagar — a city approximately 300 km away from his village.
"At the Ahmednagar railway station, I met two other migrant workers like me. We often identify people like us in the crowds. They wore the same clothes and spoke the same language. When the three of us sat down to chat, a person in white shirt and blue pants approached us. He said he has some work at a construction site. We were promised Rs 500 per day, two meals, and eight to ten hours of work daily. It looked like a decent offer. In fact, it looked like a good offer."Amol Nimbalkar
Thousands of daily wage labourers migrate every year within Maharashtra in search of work as the summer season starts.
(Illustration: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
The three of them were then asked to adjust on a motorcycle which took them to a truck parked next to a highway. "In the truck were several other labourers. We were all then taken to Osmanabad and asked to start digging wells," Nimbalkar added.
According to SP Kulkarni, there are chances that this wasn't a one-off case. "The police is investigating if there is a larger gang operating along similar lines. In this case, we have already arrested seven people including contractors who take up the contracts to dig wells in the region. These contractors then employ agents to find them the labourers. The agents frequent bus stands and railway stations and offer jobs to the migrant workers coming to cities," he told The Quint.
'Don't Want to Return to the City Again for Work but...'
While Bhagwan, the 18-year-old who blew the lid off the case, is still in shock, Nimbalkar chose to narrate the entire ordeal, as a sea of reporters reached his village in Washim.
"Though I was held captive for only 20-25 days and feel lucky I was rescued, those days felt longer than years. I only have flashes of what happened to me and others. Somewhere I am thankful that they drugged us. It helped bear a lot pain," he said.
These labourers were rescued by the Osmanabad Police. Seven people have been arrested in connection with the case.
(Illustration: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
"This one time, I had blisters on my feet because of working barefoot in this heat. The agent rubbed gunpowder on those blisters. I was in unimaginable pain. Even thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. I don't know why they kept us chained. They could have made us do the same work under more humane conditions — given us our wages, food, and a decent place to stay."Amol Nimbalkar
Nimbalkar said he doesn't wish to go to a city again in search of work but the chances of this wish coming true are grim.
"I didn't go to the city because I wanted to. I went because that's the way to sustain my family. Though I don't want to but I know I will have to go back again in search of work next summer. I'll me more careful though," he said.
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