The Kalahandi district police have launched a manhunt for a labour contractor and his accomplice who had allegedly chopped off the hands of two labourers.
The crime came to light after the two injured labourers, Jialu Nial and Dhangada Majhi, reached the government hospital at the district headquarters town of Bhawanipatana in Kalahandi district in a serious condition on Sunday night.
According to the police, the two injured labourers were among the 12 persons that the accused hired from different villages of Kalahandi about a fortnight ago, paying each Rs. 14,000 for work in a brick kiln in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
But instead of taking them to Andhra Pradesh, the contractors forcibly took them to Raipur in Chhattisgarh to engage them in brick kiln work. The labourers refused to work in Raipur and 10 of the 12 workers managed to escape. The contractor and his accomplice, who were angry at the escape of the 10 labourers, allegedly tried to bring the remaining two in a vehicle to their respective homes in Kalahandi to recover the money that they had given in advance.
On their way back to Kalahandi, the contractor and his accomplice consumed liquor and chopped off the right hands of the two labourers in a jungle near Belpada.
Thanks to:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/odisha-contractor-chops-off-hands-of-two-labourers/article5469620.ece
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of a horrific incident involving the chopping off the right hands of two migrant labourers from Odisha by a contractor from Andhra Pradesh in December last year.
Taking cognisance of a media report on the incident, a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notice to the chief secretaries of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
According to the report, the incident occurred near a jungle in Belpada village in Kalahandi district of Odisha when the two labourers were being taken back to their homes to recover the money paid to them in advance when they were hired.
They were being taken back as they had refused to work in a brick kiln in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh.
On the way back, the contractor and his accomplice got drunk and chopped off the right hands of the two workers, the report said.
The police have launched a manhunt for the contractor and his accomplice.
The two labourers were part of a group of 12 hired for Rs 14,000 each by the contractor to work in a brick kiln in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the contractor tried to forcibly take all of them to Raipur in Chhattisgarh to work in a brick kiln there, to which the labourers refused and 10 of them managed to escape, the report said.
Thanks To:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Labourers-hands-chopped-off-SC-notice-to-Andhra-Odisha-govts/articleshow/29440268.cms
The right hands of two migrant labourers were chopped off by a labour contractor and his accomplices in Odisha.
Police have begun a manhunt for the accused, who are allegedly involved in labour trafficking.
On Sunday night, the victims identified as Jialu Nial (30) and Nilambar Dhangdamajhi (28) reached the government hospital at Bhawanipatana, the district headquarters of Kalahandi, about 500km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
Police said the accused contractor had paid an advance of Rs. 14,000 each to 12 labourers, including five women, from different villages in Kalahandi district a fortnight ago to work in a brick kiln in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the contractor instead forcibly tried to take them to Raipur in Chhatisgarh to engage them in another brick kiln. The labourers resisted and all of them, except Niali and Dhangdamajhi, managed to escape when the group had halted at Sinapali in neighbouring Nuapada district on December 9.
The contractor and his accomplices had allegedly held the duo captive at an undisclosed village in Nuapada and tortured them.
Jialu Nial, the migrant labourer - whose hands were chopped by a labour contractor - lying on his bed in Bhawanipatna district headquarters hospital. (HT Photo)
On Sunday evening, they decided to bring the two labourers back to Kalahandi, where they were going to recover the advance amount from all labourers.
But on their way back, they stopped the vehicle in Balangir district to consume liquor. The accused then chopped off the right hands of the two labourers and dumped them on the road.
“We were in excruciating pain and bleeding profusely. We tried to reach the nearest village. Some people spotted us and helped us board a bus to Bhawanipatna,” said Nial, lying on a bed in hospital.
Dhagdamajhi’s father Madhab Dhangdamajhi said was informed of his son’s captivity from the labourers who had managed to escape and lodged a complaint with the local police on December 13.
“We have identified the accused and raided their houses, but they are absconding. We are also searching for some labourers who had escaped but are yet to return home,” said Kalahandi superintendent of police Sarthak Sarangi.
Thanks To:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/hands-of-migrant-labourers-chopped-off-by-contractor-in-odisha/article1-1163531.aspx