Baghpat Rescue Fails: Bonded Labourers Still Trapped

Baghpat: A Chilling Tale of Bonded Labour and Official Apathy

On March 30, The Probe uncovered a disturbing story from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh—eighteen bonded labourers were brutally assaulted by brick kiln owners during a government-led rescue. Shockingly, officials stood by and did nothing as the labourers were beaten up. It took our repeated follow-ups for an FIR to be filed in the case. Now, another chilling tale from Baghpat has come to light.

“He threatened to shoot me if I left”: A Bonded Labourer's Ordeal

Johny, a labourer who was trafficked to a brick kiln in Baghpat under the pretext of paid work, shared the harrowing details of his captivity. “A man from my village promised I would earn ₹600 per 1,000 bricks. But once I got there, everything changed,” he said.

Johny began work on January 16, 2025, but when he requested a settlement on May 18, the response was brutal. “The owner refused to pay me. He threatened to shoot me if I tried to leave,” Johny recounted, adding that he was under constant watch to prevent escape. “They left people to keep an eye on us. Somehow, when the owner went home for lunch, I ran through the fields to escape.”

On May 19, Johny managed a daring escape and made it to Delhi—where he spoke to The Probe. He identified the brick kiln as Maa Bhagwati Brick Field located in Baghpat. He also named the owners—Vikas, Vipin, and Bijender—and detailed the extent of his unpaid labour.

“I worked for five months and made 2,20,000 bricks. I received no salary. Occasionally, they gave me ₹500 or ₹1,000 and told me to buy rations for 15 days. What can a family buy with that?” he asked. Johny estimates that the owners owe him over ₹1 lakh. “They even took away my diary where I had noted my work,” he said.

Forced to Return to Brick Kiln After Interview 

Despite fleeing, Johny had no choice but to return to the kiln—his wife and four-year-old son were still trapped there.

“The owners kept us in bondage. He abused us, even using casteist slurs,” Johny said. “My wife and child are still in bondage at the kiln. I have to go back to them.”

When asked if he had a message for the authorities, Johny's response was simple but urgent: “We just want help. We want to go home.”

Johny Rescued, Others Abandoned by Officials

On May 21, officials from the Baghpat district administration finally responded—rescuing Johny and his immediate family. But nearly 15 other families remained at the kiln, left to endure the same torment.

“Police has still not recorded my statement. An FIR has not been registered against the brick kiln owner,” Johny said. “The rescue team came, spoke to us briefly, and asked us to leave.”

Shockingly, Johny bore the cost of the transport himself. “I arranged the vehicle. I’m paying for everything,” he confirmed.

When asked if other families working at the kiln were rescued, Johny shook his head. “Nothing has been done. The others are still there. Only I was rescued because I wrote the application letter. Around 10 to 15 families with their children are still trapped at the brick kiln. They are also suffering like me.”

"We Were Not Rescued"

Ajay, a young labourer working at the same brick kiln, shared a story of exploitation that mirrored the experiences of many others. He had arrived at the kiln around Holi with his elderly parents, all three of them hoping to earn a livelihood. But months later, none of them had been paid their wages.

“We’ve been working since Holi,” Ajay said, “but not a single rupee has been paid to us.” Despite the lack of payment, he continued working, documenting the unpaid dues in a small diary. “I’ve been writing everything down,” he explained. “We keep asking for our money, but the owner always postpones it. One day he says, ‘not today, maybe tomorrow,’ and then delays it again.”

When asked why they continued to work without any wages, Ajay said they had no other option. The owner refused to settle their accounts, and the constant promises of delayed payments gave them false hope. “We were waiting, thinking he would eventually pay us,” he said.

What Ajay revealed next pointed to a larger issue—one that raised serious concerns about the actions of officials during the rescue operation. When Johny and his family were rescued from the kiln, the authorities had visited the premises. Ajay and others tried to speak to them, hoping to get help. But instead of receiving support, they were dismissed.

“We were not rescued. We told the officials that we too hadn’t been paid, but they told us that we would have to go to Delhi if we wanted any help,” Ajay recounted. “We don’t want to continue working here. We are being exploited. This place is like a jail. We just want the money that’s due to us,” he asserted.

Further investigation revealed that Ajay’s experience was not isolated. Around sixty bonded labourers, including children, were found to be working at the kiln under exploitative conditions. Not one of them had received payment.

Nirmal Gorana, convenor of the National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour, said the workers were initially promised ₹600 for every 1,000 bricks. “But now they’re being told they won’t even get ₹300,” he said. “When the workers expressed their desire to leave, the owners told them to wait. This went on for weeks. The labourers are being kept in bondage against their will.”

Gorana highlighted that several workers had tried to leave in March, but were not allowed to go. “Johny and his wife told the owners twice that they wanted to leave, but the response was always the same—wait a little longer. Even when one of them arranged a vehicle to leave, the owner intervened and sent the vehicle back,” he said.

Gorana added, “If a labourer wants to stop working, no employer has the right to force them to stay. They are not slaves. But what we are witnessing here is nothing short of bonded labour. The labourers were trapped, unpaid, and unable to escape.”

 A Rescue Operation That Left Many Behind

Another disturbing video shared by a member of the rescue team reveals a father and son at the brick kiln pleading for justice. “We made 1,35,000 bricks,” the son said, his voice heavy with frustration. When asked how long they had been trying to get their wages, the reply came without hesitation—“Since the last twenty days, we have been continuously pleading. We didn’t complain at first, but now we’re helpless.” 

Witnesses allege that despite such cries for help, the rescue operation conducted at the Maa Bhagwati Brick Field in Baghpat was partial and deeply flawed. Human rights lawyer Vinod Kumar Singh, who was present during the operation, said the team chose to rescue only one family—Johny’s—while ignoring dozens of others who were also held in bondage.

“There were 40 to 50 people gathered there,” said Singh. “Eight to ten families came forward to say they weren’t being allowed to leave, that there were no toilets or lighting, and that despite producing over a lakh bricks, they’d been paid only a few thousand rupees and that too for ration so that they have life in them to work. This is nothing but slavery.”

Singh added that every indication pointed to these being cases of bonded labour. “All of them described being given an advance and then brought to the kiln under false pretenses. Yes, many of them wanted to be rescued. But the officials refused, saying they hadn’t received formal complaints,” he said.

According to Singh, this is not how rescue procedures are meant to work. “We told the officials that they have the authority to rescue labourers even in the absence of a written complaint. They could have taken suo motu cognisance as the workers were there right in front of them when Johny's rescue was happening and these workers were also pleading before the authorities to get them rescued.”

No Complaint Letters, No Rescue

When questioned, Abhishek Kumar, the Tehsildar of Baghpat, distanced himself from the decision-making. “The Deputy Tehsildar and labour inspector went there. They rescued a pregnant woman (Johny's wife). Please speak to the Deputy Tehsildar; he was the one who went. I didn’t go,” he told The Probe.

Deputy Tehsildar Raghavender Pandey, however, insisted that written applications were necessary for any further action. “We rescued Johny and his family. As for the others, we told them to submit an application,” he said.

When pressed about the practicality of expecting trapped and illiterate labourers to submit formal complaints, Pandey remained unmoved. “Even Johny said he was in bondage and submitted an application,” he argued. But as pointed out, Johny had escaped when the kiln owner had gone for lunch—an opportunity not available to the others. “These people are not free to leave. How can you expect them to submit applications?” asked this reporter. Pandey responded, “See, I can’t register a suo motu case. Try to understand.”

Despite the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act being in force for nearly five decades, bonded labour persists in Baghpat with impunity. Not only have brick kiln owners faced no action, but official inaction and bureaucratic barriers continue to deny justice to those trapped in servitude. Our repeated attempts to contact the District Magistrate and Labour Officer were met with silence—much like their response to the suffering of the workers.