Eight-year-old Deshraj lost his life after his parents were physically barred from taking him to the hospital by upper caste men who had trapped the family into bonded labour since the last five years for mere Rs 25,000 in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna.
Five years ago, Pahalwan Singh had borrowed Rs 25,000 from an upper caste man. Ever since, he and his family have been trapped in bonded labour at the farm of the accused. The child had been unwell for the past one week and when the family asked the accused for money for treatment, they were beaten up.
Pahalwan Singh, who belongs to the Sahariya Scheduled Tribe escaped, and lodged a complaint, but no action was taken. The family is now waiting for unpaid wages and documentation, including essential documents called Release Certificates. The Release Certificates are crucial for released bonded labourers to obtain rehabilitation benefits under various government schemes. Without these papers, they are remain vulnerable to continued exploitation.
