Surendranagar: The police have arrested two individuals who were operating a coal mine and had chained four laborers to compel them to work in the mine.

Sub Inspector ZL Odedara of Thangadh police station revealed that the incident came to light when two laborers managed to escape from a coal mine near Khakhrali village at night and reported the situation to the police.

As per the official, one of the laborers, Mukesh Rathod, belonging to a Scheduled Caste, had come to Rajkot in search of work but couldn’t find any. On September 26, they were lured by an auto driver promising high pay and accommodation. They were subsequently taken to Vanraj’s coal mine to work. Realizing that the daily wage of Rs 500 for this demanding job, which began early in the morning and continued until sunset, was insufficient, the laborers expressed their desire to leave after just one day of work. However, Kathat, one of the mine operators, didn’t allow them to go and forced them to work for four more days. To prevent their escape, Kathat used to chain them to his motorcycle during the night.

Two of the laborers who managed to escape on September 30 alerted the police, leading to the rescue of the remaining two laborers, he added.

The mine owner, Vanraj, and his partner, Allanur Kathat, have been arrested under the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for offenses such as wrongful confinement, assault, criminal intimidation, and other charges, Odedara confirmed. DeshGujarat