Brick kiln owner booked for forcing man to work as bonded labourer in Thane district

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The police in Maharashtra's Thane district on Sunday registered a case against a brick kiln owner for allegedly forcibly taking a man and his family to the kiln and making him work there over a financial dispute, an official said.

Accused Sashikant Patil, a resident of Khandpe in Bhiwandi, has been booked under the Indian Penal Code, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.

Complainant Rajesh Mukne from Ambivili in Wada taluka had taken loans totalling nearly Rs 50,000 from the accused, the official said.

After working for six months, the accused claimed Rs 40,000 was still outstanding. When Mukne disagreed with him over the amount and refused to work, Patil allegedly assaulted him, forcibly took him and his family members to the brick kiln, and compelled him to resume work.

Around Diwali last year, Patil took Mukne to the Wada police station and forced him to give a false statement saying that he had not been subjected to any violence, the official said.

Mukne then approached an NGO, which got in touch with the police and ensured that a case was registered against Patil, he said.

The station house officer of Padgha police station said they are probing the matter.

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