Police in Udupi district have arrested a woman accused of forcing a member of the Scheduled Tribe community to work as a bonded laborer for nearly 30 years in a village in Kundapura taluk, officials said.
The victim, now 65, belongs to the Koraga community and was allegedly forced to work under exploitative conditions for decades at Kabelo in Kanyana village, police said.
Deputy Inspector of Police H D Kulkarni said that the woman was arrested and remanded in judicial custody on Thursday evening for violating the provisions of the law relating to bonded labour. “The victim, who belongs to the Koraga community, was detained as a bonded laborer for almost 30 years and was subjected to inhumane treatment during that period,” Kulkarni said.
Investigators said the man had initially worked about three decades ago as a domestic worker for Subana Shetty, a resident of Kapilu near Hamadi in Kundapura taluk. After Supanna Shetty’s death, his daughter Rajani Shetty and her husband Karunakara Shetty allegedly continued to force him to work in their house.
According to police, the man was assigned a range of tasks on the property, including looking after livestock, doing agricultural work, cleaning livestock pens and maintaining household toilets.
Kulkarni said the victim was deprived of proper wages and basic amenities during this period. “He was forced to sleep in the cattle shed and was not allowed to leave the building. During this period he was harassed and exploited,” the officer said.
The case came to light after a complaint was filed alleging exploitation of the tribal man for a long period, prompting the police to launch an investigation.
A case has been registered at Kundapura Rural Police Station and Rajani Shetty has been arrested in connection with the incident. Kulkarni leads the investigation.
The accused has been booked under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including Section 3(1)(h), which deals with atrocities committed against members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the police said.
Investigators said this section was invoked because the accused subjected the victim to physical and mental abuse despite knowing that he belonged to the ST community.
Inspector Santosh Kaikini of Kundapura Rural Police Station said that the accused appeared before the court after the police recorded her statement on Thursday evening.
