Thane: Kalyan-based brick kiln owner, aide held for kidnapping bonded worker; 3rd case in 1 month

The victim Pintya Sawar, his wife Sangeeta and children. Pic/Hanif Patel

A Kalyan-based brick kiln owner and his accomplice have been arrested for kidnapping and assaulting a 28-year-old bonded labourer. The case was registered at the Wada police station in Palghar district on Wednesday night and the duo, Sachin Patil and Manohar Bhagwan Hilim, were subsequently placed under arrest. This is the third FIR registered under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act in the district in November.

The incident took place in the middle of the night of November 27 when the victim Pintya Sawar and his wife Sangeeta, 22, were sleeping inside their hut in Wada taluka's Jambhulpada village. Patil and his a few accomplices allegedly entered their shanty, abducted Pintya, bundled him into their car and drove to Kalyan in Thane district.

Wife's prompt actions

Sangeeta contacted her relatives in Bhiwandi where she came in contact with a few social activists who helped her register an FIR at Wada police station. In her statement to the police, Sangeeta said, "We would work at a brick kiln owned by Sachin Patil, who would give us a weekly wage to run our household. After the brick-making season was over, we calculated the amount remunerated and my husband revealed that he had taken an advance of Rs 9,000 in 2019."

The accused (centre) Sachin Patil, a Kalyan-based brick kiln owner, and (right) his accomplice Manohar Bhagwan Hilim. Pics/Hanif Patel

"During Dussehra, Patil and others had come to our house and forcibly took Pintya in their car to work for him. Before Diwali, my husband wanted to come back home, but Patil was not sending him back. So, my husband somehow ran away from Kalyan and reunited with us to celebrate the festival of lights," the statement read. The Sawar family went to Bhiwandi in search of work after Diwali. "We had spent eight days there and then came back to Jambhulpada on November 27 to get rations," Sangeeta said in her statement.

‘They forced open main door'

"After having dinner on November 27, we were sleeping when Patil and his accomplices forced open the main door and entered my house. After grabbing Pintya, the brick kiln owner told him, ‘You have taken advance from me, how can you not come to work' and then took him away in his car," added Sangeeta. The social activist told mid-day that after Diwali was over, Patil and his accomplices would visit Jambhulpada in search of Pintya. "But would always return emptyhanded as the Sawar family had already left for Bhiwandi," said social activist Bharat Patil, who helped Sangeeta approach the police.

Pintya Sawar, who was abducted by the trio on November 27; (right) Sangeeta Sawar, the victim's wife, who approached the Wada police

"After we approached the Wada police, the on-duty officer immediately called Patil and asked if he had abducted Pintya. The brick kiln owner then owned up and the officer asked him to return the labourer to the village and report to the Wada police station immediately," he said. "On Wednesday night, Patil brought Pintya back and reached Wada police station," he added.

Cop Speak

Balasaheb Patil, superintendent of police, Palghar, said, "We have registered an FIR under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and arrested two accused in this case. Investigations are underway."

Asked what the accused had to say during their interrogation, Patil said, "Mostly, they confessed sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Jawhar division, Shailesh Kale said, "Pintya was given advance of Rs 9,000 by Patil. The latter's brick kiln was shut during the pandemic and Patil needed workers. Hence, he forced Pintya to work at the kiln. Though he worked there for a few days after Dussehra, he returned home before Diwali. When the victim did not report to work after the festival, Patil reached his village and the offence took place."

"Three people committed the offence. Patil and Hilim were produced before a court that remanded them in two-day police custody. The hunt is on to trace the third accused," he added.

Past instances

mid-day has been highlighting the pathetic conditions of tribals in Maharashtra. On November 5, 19-year-old Sainath Tumbda registered a case at Manor police station after he was held captive for 53 hours in Karmala taluka in Solapur where he was allegedly subjected to physical assault and torture while being forced to work in a sugarcane field to harvest the cash crop in lieu of his Rs 5,000 advance.

Later that month, a case was registered at Wada police station in connection with the caning of a labourer who had gone to work in the field of a landlord's rival to earn some money for Diwali. In July, a 28-year-old tribal woman bonded labourer, a native of Raigad district, was allegedly gang-raped by her employers in Satara district where she had gone to work in a charcoal manufacturing plant along with her children and husband. The accused had tied the hands and legs of her husband while allegedly committing the offence.

Nov 27
Day the abduction occurred