Balangir, Nov 1: Police rescued as many as 24 bonded labourers including nine women and five children, who were allegedly being trafficked to Hyderabad, from Kantabanji railway station in Odisha’s Balangir district on Wednesday.

The rescued labourers are the residents of Lathore area of Balangir district and Godbhaga area of Bargarh district in the State, police sources said.

Acting on a tip-off about human trafficking, Kantabanji Police with the help of GRP conducted raids at Kantabanji railway station and rescued the bonded labourers from the spot. They also detained two middle-men, locally called ‘Dalal’, in this connection.

When asked, police came to know that the labourers were allegedly being taken to outside of the State by the middle-men to work as bonded labourers, sources added.

Read: Odisha Govt Approves 12 Investment Projects Worth Rs 2,794 Crore

Soon, the police took the labourers to the Kantabanji l police station for further investigation and subsequently arrested the middlemen on charges of human trafficking and under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

Later, the local administration and police made arrangements to send the rescued labourers to their respective villages

Human-trafficking has been on the rise in Western-Odisha districts due to lack of employment opportunities in the locality.

Read: Odisha News

Argus English: Odisha's Top English News Platform | Latest Breaking News, Politics, Sports & Live TV