Baghpat Bonded Labourers: FIR Registered, But Justice Remains Elusive
Baghpat Bonded Labour Case: FIR Filed After The Probe’s Exposé
In the dusty outskirts of Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, the harrowing ordeal of 18 bonded labourers rescued from BBF brick kiln on February 25, 2025, reveals ongoing administrative neglect. The Probe’s initial report on March 30, 2025, brought to light their brutal exploitation, a botched rescue operation, and the administration’s inaction.
Now, an FIR has been registered against the kiln owner, Ravinder Rana, his son Abhimanyu, associate Bittu, and six to seven unidentified persons, marking a step toward accountability. Yet, the absence of critical legal sections addressing bonded and child labour in the FIR, coupled with ongoing delays in issuing release orders, raises serious questions about whether justice is being deliberately diluted.
A Cry for Help: The Probe’s Exposé
The Probe’s investigation revealed how 18 labourers, including women and children from five Dalit families, were lured to the BBF brick kiln in Bilochpura village with an advance payment of ₹10,000 per family on January 3, 2025. Instead of the promised fair wages, they faced confinement, unpaid labour, and violence.
Surender Kumar, one of the labourers, risked his life to secretly write to the District Magistrate on February 22, 2025, detailing their plight and pleading for rescue. His letter triggered a rescue operation three days later, but what unfolded was a betrayal of trust.
A Flawed Rescue: Violence in Plain Sight
On February 25, 2025, labourers told The Probe that a skeletal rescue team—comprising Labour Enforcement Officer Arvind Madhesia, a policeman, and an unidentified official—arrived at the kiln. Instead of ensuring safety, the team allegedly colluded with the kiln owner, Ravinder Rana.
Surender recounted how the officials coerced the labourers into signing blank documents, refusing to record their statements on-site. As the workers moved toward the rescue vehicle, Rana, his son Abhimanyu, and their associates attacked them with bricks, iron rods, and casteist slurs, leaving many, including women, bloodied. Shockingly, the rescue team stood by as mute spectators, failing to intervene or arrange transport for the injured workers, who had to flee on their own.
Post-rescue, the labourers faced a new battle: bureaucratic indifference. Their statements were only recorded on March 3, 2025, after relentless pleas to the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate. Even then, Labour Enforcement Officer Arvind Madhesia, accused by the labourers in the botched rescue, was present, raising concerns about impartiality.
The workers’ repeated attempts to file an FIR were dismissed until The Probe’s report prompted action. Despite appeals to the District Magistrate and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on March 24, 2025, the labourers remain without release orders, unpaid wages, or rehabilitation support, living in fear of reprisals from their former captors.
An FIR, But a Diluted Case?
The FIR, registered by the Baghpat police, invokes Sections 191(2), 115(2), and 131 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Section 191(2) addresses rioting while Section 115(2) covers voluntarily causing hurt and Section 131 penalises assault or criminal force without provocation. The SC/ST Act section targets offenses against marginalised communities.
Notably absent are sections from the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, such as Section 16, which mandates up to three years’ imprisonment for enforcing bonded labour, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, despite evidence of children working at the kiln. This omission has sparked allegations that the Baghpat police are attempting to frame the incident as a mere scuffle, shielding the kiln owners from the full weight of the law.
Surender Kumar: “Police Tried to Censor My Statement”
Surender Kumar, a rescued bonded labourer on whose complaint the FIR was registered spoke to The Probe about the botched rescue operation. “The rescue happened like this—when the rescue team from Baghpat district administration came to rescue us, they did not come to us directly. Instead, they went straight to the owner of the brick kiln who was forcing us to work. They spoke to him for quite some time. Then, along with the owner, they came to us. As soon as they met us, the rescue team officials from the government asked us to sign some blank documents. We refused. We said we can’t just sign like that—if there’s a statement, we’ll sign a statement. But they insisted. They said, “If you don’t sign, we will leave you here and won’t rescue you.”
Surender continues: “During the process of rescue, we had to arrange for vehicles. The rescue team told us either you arrange vehicles or don’t get rescued. Then somehow I arranged vehicles for all of us and when we were about to board the vehicle, the brick kiln owner, Ravinder Rana, and his son Abhimanyu attacked us along with many other goons. They beat us with iron rods. My brother's hand was broken, and he suffered deep head injuries that required many stitches. They also hit me on the head—my head has healed now, but at the time it was serious. Women and children were injured too.”
Surender also alleges police misconduct during the FIR process, accusing them of protecting the kiln owner. “We were bonded labourers at that brick kiln. We have proof. I have a video showing children being forced to work, including my own children, my father, and my brother—all of them are seen working in that video. I shot that video secretly. We had been working there since January 3rd. We were not allowed to leave that place. We were kept in confinement. We have video evidence as well. When I was called to the police station to file the FIR, I went and started writing my statement myself. But the police started interfering. They told me not to write certain things and tried to censor my words. I asked them, ‘Whose statement is this—yours or mine?’ They were threatening me, intimidating me, and forcing me to change my account. Then I called the SDM, who instructed them to record my statement properly. Even then, none of the appropriate legal sections for bonded labour or child labour were included. The police were clearly trying to protect the owner and were showing it only as a simple case of conflict between employers and employees. They are doing everything to shield the owner,” Surender told The Probe.
Gajendra Singh: “A Clear Effort to Shield the Owners”
“I have thoroughly looked at this case and I am very much convinced that these labourers were bonded labourers. In fact, I had also gone to record the statement of the labourers involved and ensured that their statements are being recorded fairly. All the labourers have clearly told in their statements how they were initially given advance payment and then made to forcibly work in the brick kiln in brutal conditions. I have strongly recommended to the District Magistrate that these are bonded labourers and they should be immediately given relief in terms of release orders and compensation so that they can restart their lives,” said Gajendra Singh, Project Leader, Access to Justice Project by Gramin Samaj Vikas Kendra, Meerut.
Singh added, “Though the FIR has been registered, none of the sections related to bonded labour, child labour, or many other sections figures in the FIR. The FIR clearly shows that there is an effort to shield the brick kiln owners. I request the District Magistrate to take a serious view of these developments and immediately take action so that the bonded labourers get justice.”
Nirmal Gorana: “Why No Action Against Complicit Officials?”
Nirmal Gorana, Convenor of the National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), questions the administration’s motives. “Is there a concerted effort to just show this as a minor scuffle between the employers and employees? Why was the bonded labour section not added? Why were child labour sections not added? Why have the brick kiln owners not been arrested, and most importantly, why has action not been taken against the government officers who made the bonded labourers sign on blank documents?” Gorana demanded.
Release Orders: A Lifeline Still Denied
The Probe’s initial report highlighted that the 18 labourers have yet to receive their release orders—critical documents that officially acknowledge their status as bonded labourers, unlocking access to compensation, rehabilitation schemes, and unpaid wages under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Without these orders, the workers remain in limbo, unable to rebuild their lives or seek legal recourse effectively.
SDM’s Assurance, Labour Department’s Delay
The Probe spoke to Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Baghpat, Avinash Tripathi, who assured on March 31, 2025, that release orders would be issued immediately.
In the first week of April, he confirmed, “I have taken the matter seriously, and the release orders have been issued to all the bonded labourers. Also, action will be taken against the rescue team if we get complaints on any misdemeanour from their part.” However, the rescued labourers have since confirmed to The Probe that they still have not received these orders. When contacted again, the SDM stated that the paperwork is stuck in the labour department.
A Systemic Failure Demanding Accountability
The registration of an FIR is a small victory, but the exclusion of bonded and child labour sections, the failure to arrest the perpetrators, and the absence of release orders point to a troubling pattern of denial and inaction.
The Baghpat case mirrors similar failures in Moga, Punjab, where officials dismissed bonded labour claims despite evidence. The Probe’s continued scrutiny, alongside the resilience of survivors like Surender and the advocacy of activists like Singh and Gorana, keeps the pressure on the administration. But until the labourers receive their due justice—release orders, compensation, and full legal accountability—the law remains a hollow promise.
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