Labourer allegedly tortured by kiln owner

Victim chained to a tree for skipping work on Eid

OKARA:

The owner of a kiln near Okara punished a labourer for having holidays on Eid by brutally torturing him after tying him to a tree with a chain.

When the video of the incident went viral on the social media, DPO Faisal Shehzad took notice. A team headed by Hujra Shah Muqeem SHO Hafiz Athar went to the spot, rescued the labourer named Ahmed and arrested the record keeper of the kiln.

According to the SHO, the labourer worked at the kiln near Panj Pir village. He took a day off from work on the Eidul Fitr day. When he returned to work the next day, he was tied to a tree and allegedly subjected to torture.

The laborer kept begging for mercy but the owner of the kiln paid no heed.

When the video of the inhumane treatment of the worker went viral, Hujra Shah Muqeem police raided the place and found that the kiln owner had chained the labourer to a tree and he was sitting under the sun in hot weather.

The police rescued the labourer, arrested Muhibullah, the record keeper of the kiln, and registered a case.

DPO Faisal Shehzad said that it was necessary to prevent such incidents in future as under no circumstances did the law allow humiliation of someone.

The district police chief said action would be taken against the suspect in accordance with the law.

Incidents of violence against labourers are reported frequently from various parts of the province.

Earlier this month, a kiln contractor allegedly tortured a nine-year-old boy to death during forced labour and hid his body in a room near Jhang Road in Thirkriwala.

Rizwan was brutally beaten by the contractor and his family for not working more, which resulted in his death.

Last month, an incident of torture on a child domestic help was reported in Wahdat Colony at the house of a government official.

Reportedly, a neighbour informed the police that a child domestic labourer was screaming for help while being tortured in a house. A police team responded to the call and jumped into the house using a ladder to rescue the child as the main door was locked.

In the first week of March, a case of torture on a minor domestic help surfaced in Faisalabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2021.