Three victims of forced labor rescued from cold storage in Alipurduar, West Bengal
Three people, including two children, were rescued from forced labor in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district on Thursday (September 3, 2026).
The rescued group, one adult man and two children, were working in a cold store. The children were 16 years old, while the adult was about 50 years old, rescuers said.
The adult victim, Kalipada Mondal, hails from Nandakumarpur in the Sundarban region of South 24 Parganas. He was recruited by a local contractor through an advance payment arrangement, reportedly paying ₹25,000 as an advance, and has been working for the past 25 years.
Two minors aged 16 who were engaged without regular wages were sent to an orphanage in Jalpaiguri district. They are also the inhabitants of the Sundarbans.
Rescuers said the working conditions of those rescued showed early indicators of forced labor, including restrictions on freedom of movement, restrictions on freedom of employment, withholding of wages and deductions for advances and other expenses.
After the rescue, an FIR was registered at the Alipurduar police station under various sections of the Involuntary Labor Act, 1972 and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita dealing with human trafficking.
An FIR dated September 3 said three persons, including one adult and two minors, were trafficked and bound there to work illegally, with cash to their family by a contractor, without proper wages and facilities. The rescue was carried out from the Gour Nitai Cold Storage premises located at Purba Kathalbari in Alipurduar.
Two accused Shiburam Mondal and Abbas Sk were registered in the FIR.
“The Bonded Labor Act regulates the provision of compensation to rescued people as forced labor. We are waiting for the administration to issue dismissal letters so that the rescued can be compensated,” said a social worker who participated in the rescue.
More than 45 persons, including several children, were rescued during the year in West Bengal as workers in brick, earthenware, cold storage and agri-food companies.
Published – 05 Sep 2026 04:20 IST