Moga District Under NHRC Lens for Shielding Bonded Labour Exploiters

Moga Brick Kiln Horror and Punjab Government's Shocking Apathy

On February 3, 2025, The Probe uncovered one of the darkest secrets hidden in the heart of Punjab’s Moga district: 56 bonded labourers, including 26 children, trapped at Sandhu Brick Industries. The investigation revealed a chilling reality—entire families, trafficked from Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, were being forced into bondage.

These families, all from Scheduled Caste communities, had been lured into accepting small advance payments—amounts as low as ₹10,000 to ₹30,000. But the debt trap sealed their fate. Men, women, and children, some as young as four and five years old, were made to work in brutal conditions without wages, under constant surveillance, violence, and threats.

Ankush Kumar’s story became emblematic of this nightmare. At 26, he had already endured 16 years of bondage. His escape to meet reporters was a desperate gamble:

“I ran away and came to you in the hope that my family will be rescued. My entire family is working in the brick kiln in Moga.”

Ankush described being beaten since childhood, losing his younger brother to a fatal accident at the kiln, and watching his uncle’s eyesight destroyed after demanding wages. Still, he returned to bondage—because his family remained trapped.

The Probe’s investigation also documented video evidence from inside the kiln. Children as young as four were working long hours, women in advanced stages of pregnancy were forced to mould bricks, and families spoke of producing lakhs of bricks without receiving a single rupee in wages.

One labourer, Sandeep Kumar, summed up the collective despair: “We just want to go home, but they are not letting us leave.”

The revelations were stark: modern-day slavery persisted openly in Punjab, despite the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976 and other labour protections.

The First Impact: A Rescue

The immediate impact of the reporting was visible the very next day, on February 4, 2025. Authorities, under pressure from the media coverage and civil society complaints, conducted a rescue operation. Forty-six people, including children, were freed.

The National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), led by Nirmal Gorana, played a critical role by formally petitioning the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The Commission quickly issued notices to Punjab officials, directing them to rescue the workers, rehabilitate the children under the Juvenile Justice Act, and submit an action taken report.

The rescue, however, was only a partial victory. Two families remained untraceable, and activists immediately pointed out a glaring problem: the rescued workers were not issued release certificates, a vital legal document that recognises their status as bonded labourers and enables access to rehabilitation schemes.

Worse, the kiln owner faced no serious consequences. According to officials, he would merely be fined. For activists, this was a signal that the exploitative cycle would continue.

“This is the whole problem,” said Nirmal Gorana at the time. “The administration rescues the labourers, but then denies them release orders. Without legal recognition, without rehabilitation, they remain vulnerable. Employers get away with impunity, and the cycle repeats.”

The NHRC’s Intervention: A Demand for Accountability

In the months following the rescue, the NHRC continued to monitor the case. On August 22, 2025, the Commission issued a strongly worded letter to the District Magistrate of Moga, responding to what it called a flawed and misleading report submitted by the local administration.

The Moga enquiry committee had astonishingly concluded that the workers were “not bonded labourers.” While it acknowledged that families wanted to return home and had unpaid wages, it dismissed the conditions of bondage outright and hastily arranged their transport back to Uttar Pradesh.

The NHRC rejected this conclusion. In its observations, the Commission stated:

• The committee failed to check whether the brick kiln had the necessary licence.

• It did not verify whether wages, registers, and compliance with labour laws were maintained.

• It ignored the testimonies of workers who had clearly described working without wages.

• It overlooked the requirement to examine whether basic amenities—schooling for children, healthcare, sanitation, housing—were provided.

The NHRC’s letter emphasised a key principle: “In the absence of documents required to be maintained and in absence of benefits mandated by law, the District Magistrate is duty bound to raise the presumption that the labourers are bonded labourers.”

The Commission then directed the District Magistrate of Moga to submit a fresh, detailed report, answering specific questions on licensing, worker numbers, wage slips, minimum wage compliance, provision of amenities, and welfare measures. It also demanded details of whether a Vigilance Committee under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 was functioning, and whether members from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were included in inspections.

Perhaps most tellingly, the NHRC warned that failure to comply by October 13, 2025 would result in the Commission invoking Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, requiring the personal appearance of the District Magistrate before the Commission.

NHRC’s Second Letter: A Stern Warning After First Rebuke

The August 22, 2025 letter from the NHRC was not the first time the Commission had raised alarm over the mishandling of the bonded labour case. It was, in fact, the second letter, written only after the district administration ignored and downplayed the concerns flagged by the Commission in its earlier communication.

Back on February 28, 2025, just weeks after the rescue operation, the NHRC had already intervened with a strongly worded letter to the Punjab Labour Commissioner and the District Magistrate of Moga. That first letter, which The Probe reported at the time, had accused the district administration of conducting a flawed, misleading and incomplete probe into the plight of the 56 bonded labourers rescued from Sandhu Brick Kiln Industries.

In that first intervention, the Commission had pulled apart the Additional District Magistrate’s (ADM) action taken report dated February 6, 2025, which claimed the workers were not bonded labourers. The NHRC said the conclusion defied logic, especially when families themselves testified that they had worked for months without wages, and when children were visibly engaged in forced labour.

The Commission demanded answers to a set of very specific questions: Did the kiln have a valid licence? Were wage registers and muster rolls maintained as required by law? Were labourers being paid minimum wages? Were their children provided schooling, health care, food, and housing? Was a Vigilance Committee under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 in place, and if so, did members from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities participate in the inspection?

Crucially, the NHRC emphasised that in the absence of wage registers, payment slips, or other documentation, the law required the presumption that the workers were indeed bonded labourers. Yet, the district authorities brushed aside this fundamental principle, opting instead to send the families home in a hired truck without even ensuring they received their pending wages—let alone issuing release certificates to secure their rehabilitation.

Activists were quick to call this a travesty of justice. “Sending them home without wages or support isn’t rescue; it’s abandonment,” said NCCEBL Convener Nirmal Gorana at the time. He warned that without release certificates and rehabilitation benefits, the families would inevitably fall back into the same cycle of bondage.

Despite the NHRC’s clear instructions and a deadline of April 7, 2025 to submit a proper compliance report, the Moga district authorities failed to meet expectations. Their submissions either repeated old claims or avoided addressing the Commission’s pointed queries. As weeks turned into months, the NHRC grew increasingly dissatisfied with the administration’s inaction and evasions.

It was against this backdrop that the NHRC issued its second letter on August 22, 2025—this time, with sharper language and a sterner warning. The Commission explicitly called out the district administration for ignoring its earlier directives and for attempting to whitewash the existence of bonded labour in Moga. 

The Moga case is no longer just about a single rescue. It has become a test case for state accountability in tackling bonded labour, exposing how local administrations often collude with perpetrators through denial, delay, and procedural loopholes. 

Activists’ Outrage: “Supporting the Perpetrators”

For activists like Nirmal Gorana, the NHRC’s intervention validated what they had been saying all along: the Moga administration was trying to shield the perpetrators instead of supporting the victims. In his latest statement to The Probe, Gorana minced no words: “There were 17 children working in that brick kiln under very harsh conditions. When we complained to the NHRC, they issued a notice, and these bonded labourers were rescued. Their statements, and those of their parents, described the inhuman conditions they endured. But the Moga district administration wrote to the NHRC saying these people were not bonded labourers. This is most unfortunate. The NHRC itself pointed out the flaws in the report and has now asked for a fair report. The Moga administration is supporting the perpetrators and writing a report against the bonded labourers. This is a gross human rights violation and a criminal offence.”

Gorana states that on the ground evidence and testimonies clearly indicated bondage. Yet on paper, the district administration sought to downplay it.

For activists, this isn’t just a bureaucratic misstep—it is a structural failure that perpetuates modern slavery. By denying bonded status, the administration effectively denies victims justice, rehabilitation, and the possibility of rebuilding their lives. To break the cycle of exploitation, the administration must comply with the NHRC’s directives and ensure that the rescued bonded labourers receive jobs, rehabilitation, and a sustainable means of living.