Andhra Pradesh - Ongole   

Girl freed from `bonded labour'

Special Correspondent

ONGOLE: Fifteen-year-old Yerukala girl belonging to Scheduled Tribes here on Friday alleged that a Deputy Superintendent of Police had engaged her family as bonded labourers for the last 10 years. Unable to bear the harassment, she ran away along with her parents four months ago. But the DSP found out her whereabouts and forced her to come back to work while her parents were still at large, she said.

All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) which came to know about her plight rescued her. The AIDWA leaders told newspersons here on Friday that they would take the issue to the notice of Superintendent of Police and demand action against the DSP concerned .

Talking to newspersons, the tribal girl, Ch Kameswari, said they had borrowed Rs. 6,000 from the employer 10 years ago to perform some ceremony in the house.

Meagre salary

Initially they engaged her mother and sister to work in their house. After her sister got married and left, Kameswari joined her mother to do the work.

They paid a salary of Rs. 100-200 per month for one person and gave food for another person for attending to all works like sweeping, washing clothes and dishes etc., she said. Though the father saved Rs. 6,000 from his meagre earnings once and offered to repay the debt and get the family released from work, she alleged that the DSP's family refused to take back the amount and threatened to "put them in jail" if they tried to free themselves.

The family ran away once. But the police found out that they were in Nellore and brought them back to work. Kameswari got married four months ago and the family tried again for freedom. But they were threatened again, she alleged. In this background, Kameswari and her parents ran away four months ago. The police however questioned her inlaws and found out that the newly married couple was at Singarayakonda. Policemen went and brought them back to Ongole few days ago and forced Kameswari to work and coerced her to reveal the whereabouts of her parents, she said.

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Girl freed from `bonded labour'

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