UP family of 12 rescued from alleged forced labor in Hyderabad

The women who were rescued from a construction site at Bachupally in Medchal Malkajgiri district on Tuesday.

When a family of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh wanted to return home, they were allegedly threatened, assaulted and prevented from leaving the premises. Almost a year after they came to Hyderabad for work, finance and labor department officials from Medchal-Malkajgiri district on Tuesday rescued all 12 members of a family from alleged working conditions at a construction facility in Bachupally.

Unsafe and unsanitary conditions

Among those rescued were six children between the ages of three and 10. During the inspection, officials found four women aged 40, 25, 20 and 19 and children living in tin rooms with no ventilation. The family cooked and defecated inside the rooms, conditions officials deemed unsafe and unsanitary.

Promised ₹1,200 per day, received only ₹143

The bailout followed a complaint by social workers at the Medchal-Malkajgiri district finance department. The employees told officials that they have been living and working at the facility since September 2025 after being recruited from Uttar Pradesh through a trafficker on the promise of earning around ₹1,200 a day in Hyderabad.

What followed was very different, according to the workers. Some families received an advance of around ₹5,000, while others said the promised advance was never paid. After they started work, they were allegedly told that their wages would instead be calculated at around ₹12,000 per month, with the balance settled when they left.

They said they ended up getting only around ₹1,000 per family each week, which is roughly ₹143 per day for the whole family.

However, leaving the job was reportedly out of the question. Staff said they were not allowed to leave the premises together as a family, while most of their belongings were stored in a separate room locked by a warden.

7 day work week, abuse for not working

They claimed they were forced to work all week and faced physical and verbal abuse when they were unable to work, fell ill, disagreed with their employer or superiors, demanded unpaid wages or tried to return home. Sick and injured workers were allegedly not given adequate medical treatment. One worker told officials he was physically assaulted several times.

The case is being dealt with under the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act 1976 with respect to allegations of wage withholding, restriction of movement, physical violence, threats and inability of workers to leave their jobs freely.

After the rescue, the family was taken to the Mandal Revenue Officer’s office in Gachibowli for further processing as per Central Standard Operating Procedures for Involuntary Labour. The Miyapur police have launched an investigation into the allegation.

When contacted, Candeur constructions was not available for comment or comment.

Published – 30 Sep 2026 13:11 IST