The Hindu : New Delhi News : Boys rescued from slavery

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Boys rescued from slavery

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 14. After two unsuccessful attempts, 13-year-old Nissar finally managed to escape from the clutches of his kidnappers who had picked him up from the Capital more than three years ago and forced him into bonded labour in Uttaranchal. At his instance, the police have arrested the two alleged kidnappers and also rescued six other teenagers who too were going through a similar ordeal in the "bonded labourers camp".

The police said Nissar had gone missing on July 18, 2001, from Chandni Mahal in Central Delhi following which a case of kidnapping was registered. After all efforts to trace him failed, he miraculously returned home 10 days ago. Nissar then told his parents how he was forced to work in the fields for long hours with practically no food and beaten up badly by his captors when he refused to work or tried to flee. Six other children were meted out the same treatment. Subsequently, the police were informed. Nissar told the police that he had fallen asleep in the bus he had taken from his house in Chandni Mahal to go for his tuitions on the day he went missing. He woke up when the bus terminated at Shahdara. As he got down from the bus, the two accused -- later identified as Om Singh and his brother Mukesh Kumar -- overpowered him and forcibly took him to Tithkee village at Hardwar in Uttaranchal.

In Tithkee, he was made to work on the fields along with six other boys aged between 10 and 17. The accused woke them up at 6 a.m. and forced them to work till late in the evening. They were then herded into an accommodation and locked from outside. A couple of chapattis and some salt was all that they had for dinner. They were beaten up if they refused to work.

Earlier, Nissar had made two attempts to escapes. In one such attempt, he even managed to reach the railway station but Om Prakash and Mukesh caught up with him. The signs of the beatings are still evident on Nissar's back, the police said.

Earlier this month, he managed to escape from the sugarcane fields where he was working. He then took a train and reached Delhi.

At Nissar's instance, the police raided Tithkee village but the accused had left the place along with the children.

Subsequently, they were arrested and the children rescued from Old Delhi railway station on Tuesday while they were headed for Bahdurgarh.

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