Pune: 27 Bonded Labourers, Including Two Pregnant Women and Six Children, Rescued from Daund Sugarcane Farm
Pune: 27 Bonded Labourers, Including Two Pregnant Women and Six Children, Rescued from Daund Sugarcane Farm
Pune, November 1, 2025: In a major rescue operation, the Yawat Police, in coordination with the District Magistrate’s office and the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), freed 27 bonded labourers belonging to nine families from a sugarcane farm in Rahu village, Daund taluka, on Tuesday.
A complaint was submitted by an escaped labourer to Sonal Patil, DLSA Secretary on 27th Oct 2025. The complainant requested DLSA to help rescue his family members and others from bondage from Sugarcane facility in Daund, Tq. Pune. The labourers were kept bondage for 10 years and were not paid their minimum wages, they received only Rs. 500/- per person every 15 days. There was restriction of movement, they were not allowed to go back to their village, they did not have any leaves and they were also physically and verbally abused. They were held bonded against an advance of Rs. 10,000/- per family.
Under the guidance of Mahendra K. Mahajan Chairman of DLSA and cordination with District Collector, Pune Jitendra Dudi. The DLSA quickly acted on the complaint and gave direction to NALSA Special Cell of DLSA Pune consisting of Panel Advocate, PLV and Social Worker to support the rescue. The compliant was also forwarded to District Administration to conduct the rescue.
On 28th Oct 2025, DLSA Special Cell, District Administration, Labour Department, Police Department and civil society organizations conducted the rescue and released 9 families i.e. 11 men, 9 women including 2 pregnant women and 7 children including 1 visually impaired child.
Among those rescued were two pregnant women and six children. The operation was launched following a complaint by one of the victims, who reported years of forced confinement and exploitation by the farm owners.
A case has been registered against two accused under relevant provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the FIR, the complainant, a woman from Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district, stated that her family was taken to work on the farm in 2015 after receiving an advance of ₹10,000. Since then, the workers were allegedly not allowed to leave the village. They were closely monitored, even during market visits, to prevent them from escaping.
A DLSA official revealed that the case surfaced when one of the male victims managed to escape about a year ago and informed the district collector and legal authorities. Acting on his complaint, a joint team of officials and police raided the site and rescued the workers.
All rescued individuals hail from Sangamner and Kopargaon talukas of Ahmednagar district. While some were brought to Daund nearly a decade ago, others had been working there for about six years.
The complainant further alleged that the victims were denied permission to attend family events, including funerals, and were frequently subjected to abuse. Matters escalated on October 20, when her nephew fell ill and was beaten by the accused after being accused of faking sickness. The boy was then locked inside the house to prevent him from seeking medical care.
A member of the DLSA rescue team shared that one of the women, who was over nine months pregnant at the time of rescue, delivered a baby girl the following day.
