3 bonded labourers rescued from Natore brick kiln

Police have rescued three people who were allegedly kept confined to a brick kiln in Natore Sadar upazila as bonded labourers for about a week. They are- Polash, 18, Tipu Sultan, 35, and Monirul Islam, 24. All of them hailed from Borondali village in Jessore's Keshobpur upazila. On information, police conducted a drive at TVM Brick Kiln in Kandibhitua area of Sadar upazila and rescued the three victims on Sunday afternoon, hours after victim Polash's uncle Kafil Uddin filed a written complaint with Sadar police station. Police also arrested the brick kiln's manager, Abul Kalam, during the drive. In the complaint, Kafil mentioned that the three victims, including his nephew, had been confined to TVM Brick Kiln since December 5. The brick kiln's owner Shariful Islam Ramjan is the joint general secretary of Natore district unit Awami League. The complainant included Shariful's name as one of the accused earlier. However, the owner's name was dropped from the list of accused when Kafil filed a case in this connection later since police investigation revealed that the manager of the brick kiln had kept the three labourers in confinement without informing the owner. According to the case statement, Polash, Tipu and Monirul went to Panditgram village in Sadar upazila on December 4 as they were hired to work for a brick kiln there upon promise of higher payment. Complainant Kafil alleged that in reality, Kamal had confined the trio in the brick kiln and demanded Tk200,000 as ransom. The complainant also mentioned that he had visited Kamal and had handed over Tk50,000 as ransom money. But Kamal demanded Tk500,000 more to set the victims free, he added. Meanwhile, TVM Brick Kiln's owner and Awami League leader Shariful Islam Ramjan claimed he was informed that the said labourers were doing regular works at the brick kiln, staying and taking meals at the manager's compartment. Sadar police station Sub-Inspector Mamun, who is also the investigation officer of the case, told the Dhaka Tribune that the three victims had given statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a Natore court on Sunday night. The trio have been released as well. The court had sent Abul Kalam to jail.