‘Starved and beaten’: 12 bonded labourers rescued from UP factory horror
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Muzaffarnagar: Twelve bonded labourers, including minors, were rescued from a paper plate manufacturing factory in Muzaffarnagar district after an administrative and police raid revealed alleged inhuman working and living conditions. Officials said several workers had visible injury marks and signs of physical abuse on their bodies.
The labourers were allegedly forced to work without receiving the promised wages and were kept under harsh conditions inside the factory premises.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjay Kumar, a team led by Executive Magistrate Radhey Shyam Gaur conducted the raid at the factory located in Mandi village under Titawi police station limits after receiving information about the alleged exploitation.
During the operation, 12 bonded labourers, including minors, were freed from the premises.
Police registered a case against factory owner Ankit Balyan, Pradeep Balyan and Shiva Tyagi under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.
Pradeep Balyan and Shiva Tyagi have been arrested, while factory owner Ankit Balyan is absconding, police said.
During the investigation, officials found that the workers had been brought from different states after being promised monthly salaries of Rs 12,000. However, they were allegedly denied wages and were only provided food while being forced to continue working at the factory.
The rescued labourers told investigators that many of them had been living inside the factory for more than a year in poor conditions. They alleged that they were beaten whenever they tried to leave the premises, and several workers had injuries reportedly caused by assault.
All 12 rescued labourers underwent medical examinations and are receiving treatment. They were presented before a magistrate, where their statements were recorded.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described the alleged treatment of the workers as an attack on human dignity and demanded justice along with strict punishment for those responsible.
Police later revealed that one bonded labourer, identified as Arjun, also known as Topi, allegedly died after being tortured at the factory in November 2025. His body was allegedly packed into a bag and disposed of, according to the police.
The accounts of the rescued workers revealed the extent of the alleged suffering inside the factory. They claimed they had not seen vegetables for months and were forced to eat rotis made from bran used as cattle feed. They also alleged that they were allowed only two to three hours of sleep every day.
The labourers said they were recruited from railway stations and bus stands with promises of proper salaries ranging between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000, food, accommodation and eight-hour shifts. Instead, they alleged that they were locked inside the factory compound, denied access to their phones and identity documents, and forced to work for long hours.
One rescued worker from Agra, Sonu Chauhan, said he had left home six months ago after being offered employment. He alleged that after reaching the factory, the gates were locked and workers were forced to continue working from the next day.
The workers claimed they were given only a limited quantity of food each day and were denied regular meals. They alleged that vegetables and pulses were absent from their diet, and they survived on dry rotis prepared using animal-feed bran.
Another worker, Ramu from Nainital in Uttarakhand, alleged that labourers were forced to begin work around 4 am and continue until midnight. He claimed that even sick workers were not allowed leave and were threatened if they tried to resist.
The labourers said their duties included operating disposable plate machines, counting finished products, packing items and preparing sacks for dispatch. They alleged that they were not allowed to rest during working hours.
According to the rescued workers, the factory premises were designed to prevent escape. They described high walls, locked gates, surveillance cameras and dogs placed inside and outside the compound.
They alleged that the dogs were used to intimidate workers and were sometimes set upon those who attempted to flee.
Several labourers claimed they were regularly beaten for slowing down work, making mistakes or discussing escape attempts. Some workers reportedly had injury marks on their backs, legs and other parts of the body when they were rescued.
Police said the workers reported being assaulted with belts and sticks, attacked with sharp weapons, bitten by dogs and forced to consume animal feed.
The fear among the labourers reportedly increased after some workers allegedly disappeared. Police said the rescued workers informed them that Arjun died after alleged torture inside the factory, leading to a fresh case in the matter.
Some labourers also claimed that weapons were kept at the factory and that they were threatened with severe consequences if they spoke about their situation.
The alleged ordeal also affected their families, who remained unaware of their whereabouts for months.
Mahak Singh, who travelled from Rajasthan after receiving information from police about his brother Vikram, said the family had been searching for him for months after his phone stopped working.
He said the family was unaware of his location and that his mother’s health deteriorated due to stress. When they finally met him, they found him physically changed and traumatised.
A relative of another rescued worker from Bihar said the family had feared that something serious had happened as they had received no communication for months.
The rescue operation began after one labourer allegedly managed to escape through an opening and reached Titawi police station. Police and labour department officials then reached the factory and rescued the 12 workers.
At the police lines and Titawi police station, emotional scenes were witnessed as families reunited with relatives they had feared were missing. Four workers have already been reunited with their families, while efforts are continuing to trace the relatives of others.
Some families said they had filed missing person complaints after losing contact with their loved ones.
The labour department is now working on rehabilitation measures under the bonded labour rehabilitation scheme. Officials are also helping workers without bank accounts to open them so they can receive financial assistance.
Assistant Labour Commissioner Devesh Singh said each rescued worker would be provided financial support under the rehabilitation programme.