Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 16: Twenty-four men from Nagaland were among 94 bonded labourers rescued recently from a factory in Ahmedabad, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone -5 Ahmedabad, Akshayraj Makwana confirmed to Eastern Mirror on Monday.
The police officer informed that the 24 youth have been working at the factory for the last four years and were not allowed to return home by their employer.
“They were working for a company called Khodiyar Packaging which is supposedly also present in Assam and Nagaland, through which the men were brought (to Ahmedabad),” Makwana informed.
The DCP also informed that currently the rescued labourers are being sheltered in local facilities even as a police investigation in on.
The Naga Students’ Union Gujarat (NSUG), till the filing of this report, seemed to have been kept in the dark regarding the issue as none of the union members could confirm the news.
An office bearer of the NSUG told Eastern Mirror that even though they tried their best, they could not contact anybody. “We have only received Whatsapp messages but could not verify the news and thought it to be a rumour,” the member said.
One of the main reasons, the member cited, was because Nagas who come to the city do not register themselves with the NSUG, thus making it very difficult to track them when such incidents occur.
“We can’t go and force them to register at the same time,” the member maintained.
The member also said that none of the family members or friends of the victims in this particular incident approached the NSUG for help. “We thought the news was just a rumour as nobody approached us in the last few days,” the member stated.
The NSUG officials will be meeting with the DCP on September 17 to discuss the issue as well as keep track of the investigation.
