‘Bite by dogs, stabbed, whipped, fed fodder’: Rahul Gandhi calls for justice for Muzaffarnagar forced labor victims | Today’s news
Congress supremo Rahul Gandhi recently reacted to the Muzaffarnagar forced labor incident. He demanded justice and strict action against the perpetrators who exploited and brutalized the helpless workers.
In an interview with X, he noted the horrific treatment of the workers: “The case of forced labor among the laborers in Muzaffarnagar is absolutely shocking. Besides being forced to work without wages, the laborers were bitten by dogs, stabbed with spears, whipped and fed animal fodder.”
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He called it an attack on human dignity and demanded “justice along with rehabilitation and the harshest possible punishment for the perpetrators”. The case involves twelve workers, including minors, who were rescued from a paper board factory in Muzaffarnagar district. When authorities raided the factory in Mandi village, they found workers with visible signs of torture and injuries on their bodies, PTI reported.
Following this incident due to economic setbacks and inadequate protection for workers, he added: “When jobs dry up, incomes stop and protections like MGNREGA and labor law for the most vulnerable are weakened, desperation only grows. Those who have no other options or protections become easy prey for such exploitation. This is not an ordinary criminal incident – it is a crumbling wreck economy.”
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The incident came to light when one of the bonder workers identified as Vikram from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district managed to escape by scaling the border wall on June 22. He alerted officials at Titawi Police Station about the abuse and imprisonment of the workers, who were eventually rescued. These workers were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Nepal.
Workers were allegedly held in inhumane conditions, beaten, assaulted and not receiving promised wages ₹12,000 monthly salary. According to a HT report, these workers were trapped for more than 18 months, during which time they suffered bruises, cuts, fractures and prolonged physical abuse as the accused attacked them with iron rods, sticks and fan belts.
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reacts to the Muzaffarnagar incident
Hours after Rahul Gandhi’s post, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also reacted and criticized the incident on social media. Condemning the attack, she said it “cannot be tolerated in any civilized society”.
In a post on X, she wrote: “Workers were reportedly held captive. Instead of being paid, they were subjected to horrific torture. They were fed dry rotis and animal fodder. They were beaten with sharp weapons and whips. They were forced to be bitten by dogs.”
The post added: “This is not just cruelty to a few individuals but an attack on human dignity and our constitution. Strict action must be taken in this matter and the culprit must be given such a punishment that it sets a precedent.”
Factory owner Ankit Balyan’s father Pradeep Balyan and factory manager Shiva Tyagi have been arrested while Ankit Balyan is absconding. The police booked all three under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), System of Forced Labor (Abolition) Act, Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
