In a major rescue operation, Panagar Police freed 34 labourers from Madhya Pradesh who had been held captive by a contractor in Beed district, Maharashtra. The workers, who had been longing to return home for the festive season, were finally reunited with their families. SHO of Panagar police station, Vipin Tamrakar informed that a complaint was received from residents of Nargawan village that their relatives who had been taken for work in Maharashtra were not being allowed to return by the contractor.

 

The villagers alleged that the workers were being mistreated, not given proper food and beaten when they demanded to go home. Taking prompt action on the complaint, police traced the contractor’s location in Beed, Maharashtra and dispatched a team to rescue the victims. Police investigations revealed that in September, a contractor from Beed had taken 34 workers from Nargawan to Maharashtra, promising them jobs in sugarcane cutting. However, after reaching there, the contractor made them work in soybean harvesting.

 

The labourers agreed to continue working, but even after two weeks, they were not paid. When they demanded their wages and expressed a desire to return home, the contractor became aggressive, confiscated their mobile phones and held them captive. One of the labourers secretly recorded a video message describing their ordeal and managed to send it to a relative in Nargawan. The relative showed the video to villagers, who immediately approached Panagar Police for help. Acting on the video and phone number, police tracked the location and successfully rescued all 34 workers.