Case registered against man, son for employing bonded labourers in Palghar

Police have registered an FIR against a father-son duo under the bonded labour system Act for allegedly confining a family of six to their brick kiln in Palghar district, an official said on Wednesday. The victim woman, a resident of Raigad district, claimed she was forced to work despite her pregnancy, leading to miscarriage, the official said.

Police have registered an FIR against a father-son duo under the bonded labour system Act for allegedly confining a family of six to their brick kiln in Palghar district, an official said on Wednesday. No arrest has been made in the case which was registered on Tuesday against Pundalik Patil and his son Chetan Patil, both residents of Kelthan village in Wada taluka.

A complaint was lodged by a 36-year-old woman alleging that the Patils had employed her family of six, including her husband and four children, at their brick kiln and kept them confined, a police spokesman said.

The FIR was registered under sections 374 (unlawful compulsory labour), 370 (3) (trafficking of more than one person) of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, he said. The complainant stated that she escaped on March 3 and approached district officials seeking help. A similar incident of harassment of a tribal woman from neighbouring Raigad district by a brick kiln owner based in Ahmednagar district in western Maharashtra has come to light. The victim woman, a resident of Raigad district, claimed she was forced to work despite her pregnancy, leading to miscarriage, the official said. Police have registered an FIR and conducting the investigation.