Release of bonded labourers from Uttar Pradesh factory prompts warnings of other cases

According to police, the case came to light after a labourer from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district, named only as ‘Vikram’, scaled the boundary wall of the factory in Mandi village and reached Titawi police station on 22 June.

His complaint led to a police raid that saw the rescue of 12 workers and the arrest of two people, officials said.

According to news reports, the workers were allegedly lured from railway stations, bus stands and other public places with promises of jobs, salaries, food and accommodation. Once brought to the factory, their mobile phones and identity documents were allegedly taken away, preventing them from contacting their families. At the factory, they were trapped behind locked gates and forced to work under constant surveillance, it is claimed.

The rescued workers told police they were made to work from around 4am until nearly midnight every day, and illness was not accepted as a reason to stop work. Those who resisted were beaten, they added, and pit bull dogs were allegedly used to intimidate the labourers and prevent them from escaping.

According to officials, the rescued workers came from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Nepal. Some of the workers had been held at the factory for nearly one-and-a-half years, stated officials.

Medical examinations conducted after the rescue revealed the workers had suffered multiple injuries, including bruises, cuts, fractures and signs of prolonged physical abuse, the police said. The workers claim they were assaulted with iron rods, sticks and fan belts, say police.

Call for detailed report
Following the news of the workers’ treatment and rescue, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to Uttar Pradesh government’s Chief Secretary and the state’s Director General of Police, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

The Commission – an independent statutory body responsible for protecting and promoting human rights across India – also directed the Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate to carry out an investigation into the matter as legally required under the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Under the SOP, district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates are required to take appropriate steps to identify, rescue, release and rehabilitate bonded labourers, once they become aware of any alleged victims of bonded labour. They are also required to collect evidence and seek to prosecute those responsible for keeping people in bonded labour, an offence punishable with jail sentences of up to three years and/or fines.

Reacting sharply to the alleged incident, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described the case of bonded labour as an assault on human dignity. He stated that as jobs disappear due to the economic downturn, the most vulnerable sections of society are falling prey to similar types of exploitation. 

“The case of bonded labour of workers in Muzaffarnagar is very shocking,” he wrote on X. “In addition to being forced to work without pay, workers were bitten by dogs, speared, whipped, and fed cattle feed. This is an assault on human dignity – the victims deserve justice and rehabilitation, and the perpetrators deserve the harshest punishment.” 

He added: “It is also important for us to ask what compulsions force workers into such dangerous situations. As jobs disappear, incomes stagnate, and protections for the most vulnerable, such as MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005] and labour laws, are weakened, desperation grows. Those with no other options or protections become easy prey for such exploitation. 

“This isn’t a typical criminal incident – it’s the debris of a collapsed economy.” 

50 years since abolition of bonded labour
February 2026 marked 50 years since the enactment of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. The Act  outlawed bonded labour and placed a legal obligation on state governments and local district administrations to identify people who have fallen victim to bonded labour and take steps to release and rehabilitate them. The aim is to ensure those released from bonded labour do not fall victim to similar exploitation again.  

The Act defines bonded labour broadly, and states it covers situations in which a person is compelled to work because of a debt or advance, written or verbal, under conditions that restrict movement, deny wages, or impose forced or unpaid labour. 

Although bonded labour was legally prohibited 50 years ago, commentators say in practice it remains widespread. The Global Slavery Index 2023, from the Walk Free Foundation, a human rights group that campaigns to eradicate modern slavery around the world, estimates that nearly 11 million people in India live in conditions of modern slavery.