Nuapada Police Bust Labour Trafficking Racket, Five Arrested
Nuapada: In a major breakthrough against labour exploitation, Nuapada Police have dismantled an alleged inter-state migrant labour trafficking racket and arrested five persons accused of trafficking workers, illegal confinement, extortion, and physical assault.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Amritpal Singh, Superintendent of Police, Nuapada.
The crackdown was led by Khireshwari Sahu, SDPO, and Ranjan Nayak, Inspector-in-Charge of Beltukuri Police Station.
Investigators uncovered a network allegedly involved in recruiting vulnerable labourers from the district and sending them to brick kilns in Uttar Pradesh under exploitative conditions.
According to police findings, labour contractors had allegedly been luring economically disadvantaged families with cash advances and transporting them for work outside the state.
The practice is believed to have continued for several years, with workers reportedly facing harsh conditions and limited freedom.
The case came to light after a complaint alleging that certain labourers who declined to return to work were forcibly taken to a village location, physically assaulted, and threatened over monetary demands linked to advance payments.
During the investigation, police arrested five accused identified as Nilakamal Chandrakar, Mulachand Sabar, Sanoj Lohar, Santosh Agrawal, and Anup Agrawal.
Authorities have registered cases under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979. The accused have been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
Police officials stated that further investigation is underway to identify additional links in the trafficking network and to ensure protection for affected workers.
