14 child labourers rescued from Odisha’s Cuttack

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, May 2: 

As many as 14 child labourers were today rescued from on a mixture factory in Madhupatna area of Cuttack following a joint raid conducted by Odisha’s twin city Commissionerate Police and district Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

The minors were being made to work near the fire under hazardous conditions, said one of the members of the rescue team.

As per preliminary investigations, the children belong to Malkangiri, Angul, Cuttack and Bhadrak districts.

They were taken to a hospital for a health check-up following the rescue operation and found to be in proper health. They were later handed over to the CWC, who in turn will arrange for the return of the kids to their respective families.

While the compensation structure of these children is yet to be ascertained, the children refused to have received any money directly from the factory owner.

One of the rescued children complained that the factory owner tortured them physically and on occasions branded them too. Even though the children said that the factory owner brought them to the place, they could not explain how he managed to get to them.

The owner of the factory is on the run following the raid.

A complaint has been lodged in Madhupatna police station in connection with the incident and the cops are on a lookout to nab the accused factory owner.