Maharashtra: Eight Igatpuri tribal kids ‘pawned’ 10 years ago still missing

Families of the missing tribal kids at Ubhade village, Igatpuri, on Wednesday. Pics/Hanif Patel

Eight tribal children from Ubhade village in Igatpuri taluka remain missing for around a decade after their parents, from the poor Katkari Samaj community, agreed to send them to work at goat and sheep farms in Ahmednagar as bonded labourers in exchange for a meagre amount of money. The recent death of 10-year-old Gauri Agivle has brought the spotlight on the issue, which led to the rescue of 11 children who were pawned off by their parents.

Janki Wagh, 9, who was rescued

Activists said it is a big racket wherein the middlemen visit the tribal families in Igatpuri who live in extreme poverty, and convince them to part with their children, some of them as young as five years old. Top officials from revenue and tribal development departments along with local police in Ahmednagar are looking for the missing children and held several rounds of meetings with the local shepherd community, mid-day has learnt.

Also Read: Maharashtra: Conservationists raise alarm over vanishing coastal ecosystems in Raigad

The mid-day team visited Ubhade village on Ghoti-Sinnar Road in Igatpuri taluka where 138 tribals of Katkari Samaj have been staying in 26 huts. The team found that the community lives in extreme poverty, without any help despite the slew of schemes announced by the government for tribal welfare. The residents alleged that they don't even get ration provided by the government.

(From left) Janki Wagh, her brother Sudam and Sudam Sitaram Bhoir who were rescued

Sanjay Shinde, president of the Igatpuri chapter of Shramjeevi Sanghatana - an NGO working for the rights of tribals in Maharashtra, said, "The parents send their kids off to work in sheep or goat farms with the middlemen without even knowing their background. Initially, they get to speak to the kids when the middlemen visit their locality to convince other families. But this stops gradually, and the parents are left without any information on their children." A middleman, Kantilal Karande, who used to visit the village frequently is currently in police custody after Gauri's death.

‘They're helpless'

During day-long conversations, the tribals told mid-day that some of their children have been missing for many years. Pakulabai Wagh, mukhiya of the area, said, "We have been staying here for the last 40 years. Karande would tell us that if children live here, they may die in an accident on the busy road or drown in Darna dam. So, we thought it was better to send our children to work in sheep-herding farms."

Sangamner police officers with Gauri Agivle's parents on Wednesday

Wagh had sent her two sons - Raju and Karan - off to Dongar village, Sangamner taluka in Ahmednagar district years ago. The children are among those rescued after the intervention of tribal leader Vivek Pandit, who is also the chairman of a government-appointed committee to look into the status of schemes for tribals in Maharashtra, and NGOs following Gauri's death.

Speaking on the condition of the tribe, Gokul Hilam, an NGO worker, said, "They eat when we get them something, or else they starve. This is the reason the middlemen are able to convince them to pawn their children for measly amounts of money and promises of a couple cattles a year."

‘Don't know how kids are'

Sunita Devidas Mukane, 40, sent her two sons - Dhondu and Pandu, and daughter Laxmi to work in a sheep farm around seven years ago. She said, "My kids would have been between 11 and 15 years old by now. I have not seen them even once since then. When I ask Karande, he says they are doing fine. But I don't know how or where they are."

While Mukane had chosen to send her kids, that was not the case for 55-year-old Vasant Baburao Pawar. He said his two sons were picked up from the village when he was away. "Karande took my sons Gokul, 8, and Tukaram, 11, to Dongar. My elder son managed to run away, but I am yet to find the younger son," Pawar said. Pinti Wagh, 26, said, "My brother Akash was 7 years old when Karande took him away. It has been years and we have no clue where he is."

‘Work, or get abused'

Majority of the 11 children who were rescued since Gauri's death have been sent to a remand home. Only three of them - Sudam Sitaram Bhoir, Sudam Vasant Wagh and his sister Janki Wagh - currently live with their families in the village, as their poor health condition stopped officials from taking them.

Kantilal Karande a middleman (left) Vikas Kudnar, who used to employ Gauri (right) Rawa Khatal, one of the accused

Talking to mid-day, Sudam, aged 15, said, "I was taken to Sakur Mandva in Parner taluka, Ahmednagar by Ramdas Lavhate. There, we had to wake up at 5 am everyday and were given our first meal around 12 noon. I was told to clean sheep droppings, fetch water and keep the premises clean."

"I had to take the herd of sheep to the field everyday and would return in the evening. Then, I was given two bhakri and sabji. Despite the hard work, the employer, Rama Pokale, would always assault me," said Sudam, who was pawned off by his brother.

Janki, 9, said, "We were always working. If the sheep entered anybody else's field, the landowner would assault me. And then, when I returned, my employer would again abuse me for the same mistake." The terror of that experience still weighs heavy on Janki's brother, who refused to talk.

Meanwhile, speaking about the rescued children being taken to remand home, tribal leader Pandit said, "These children are not orphans. They have not committed any offence. So, why have they been kept in remand home? They should have been kept at the ashram shala in Shahpur dedicated for Katkari Samaj. I have written to the chief minister to admit them in the ashram shala."

Cop Speak

The first FIR was filed after Gauri's death against three accused from Sangamner. Later, cops clubbed different missing children cases and registered two FIRs on September 7. "We have booked them under sections 16 (enforcement of bonded labour), 17 (advancement of bonded debt) and 18 (extracting bonded labour under the bonded labour system) of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976," said an officer attached to Sangamner police.

A team of cops from Ahmednagar also visited Ubhade on Wednesday to speak to Gauri's parents. Investigating officer Rahul Madne said, "Our investigations are underway. A total of three FIRs have been registered and seven people - Vikas Kudnar, his wife Suman, Prakash Punekar from Sangamner, and Kantilal Karande, Ramdas Lavhate, Hari Bhau Khatal and Baban Pokale from Parker taluka - have been arrested."