By Sumesh Rajan | December 23, 2025
Lured with promises of good pay, the men from Uttar Pradesh were held captive and forced to live in inhumane conditions
Ten bonded labourers from Uttar Pradesh, who had not seen their homes for nearly a year, were rescued from captivity in Ambernath following a dramatic escape by one of the victims that exposed a shocking case of exploitation.
The labourers were allegedly confined to a cramped 10×10-foot room, denied wages for seven to eight months, and forced to survive on just one meal a day. Their ordeal came to light after 21-year-old Kamlesh Banvasi managed to flee from the custody of the contractors and report the abuse.
According to Banvasi, the men were brought to Ambernath from Uttar Pradesh after being promised monthly salaries of Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000. “We barely received Rs 2,000. After work, we were locked inside the same room. If we asked for money, food, or even water to bathe, we were beaten,” he said, showing scars on his body.
He added that their mobile phones were confiscated as soon as they arrived in Ambernath and they were not allowed to contact their families. “Sometimes we were permitted to speak to our families for just two minutes on the contractor’s phone, on speaker, with him standing in front of us,” Banvasi said.
Banvasi escaped about a month ago when he was taken outside to use the toilet. “I ran through bushes and hid until early morning. I had no money or food. Somehow, I reached Kalyan and boarded a train to my village in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
After narrating his ordeal to a school teacher, Banvasi was guided to a social worker, following which the matter reached Mumbai-based advocate Trupti Patil. Patil described the conditions in which the labourers were kept as inhuman.
“This was not merely exploitation; it was complete captivity. When we reached the spot, all the workers had injury marks on their heads, eyes, and legs. Some had been beaten until they bled. Their fear was evident—they were terrified even to speak,” she said.
Patil immediately approached the Thane district collector, following which action was initiated under the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) scheme through the Thane District Legal Services Authority.
Acting on the directions of Thane District Collector Dr Shrikrishna Panchal and District Legal Services Authority Secretary Justice Ravindra Pajankar, a joint rescue operation was launched under the guidance of Resident Deputy Collector Sandeep Mane.
The operation involved Ambernath Tahsildar Amit Puri, Circle Officer Sagve, officials from the labour department led by Deputy Labour Commissioner Sambhaji Vanalkar, Assistant Labour Commissioner Anagha Kshirsagar and her representative Rajani Bhor, along with their staff. The police team was led by Senior Police Inspector Shabbir Saiyyed of Ambernath police station, assisted by his officers and staff.
The raid at M/s Shakti Food Industries in Ambernath West continued late into the night, and by around 5 am on December 19, a case was registered at Ambernath police station. Ten interstate bonded labourers from Bhadohi and Jaunpur districts of Uttar Pradesh were rescued, all bearing visible signs of physical and mental trauma.
Two contractors, Nikki alias Krishna Kumar Agrahari and Nitin Tiwari, have been arrested and booked under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to human trafficking.
Bonded labour certificates have been issued to all the rescued workers, who have since been safely sent back to their villages in Uttar Pradesh.
The incident once again underscores the grim reality that bonded labour and the exploitation of unorganised workers continue to persist despite legal safeguards.
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