Worker by day, slave by night  Savar, Jan 26 (bdnews24.com) — RAB personnel have rescued 30 people including two children and two women tied up in chains from a brick kiln at Savar. They were rescued from Ekota Brick Field in an hour-long drive around 8:30pm on Wednesday.  The elite crime busters say they conducted the drive following a tip-off that several people were being forced to work at the brick-field, tortured and bound in chains. The victims said they were forced to work against their will. After the days' work, they would be tied up. The food provided to them was meagre. If anyone tried to escape, they would be severely tortured, they said. The law enforcers have arrested manager Sultan Mohammad Ratan, 30, and contractor Hossain Gazi, 69. RAB media wing director M Sohael said the people rescued were aged between seven and 30. A child aged one and a half years was also among them. Some of them have been there for over three months. Ratan and Hossain told RAB that eight people, associated with the ruling party, were among the owners of the brick field. Two contractors—'Selim' and 'Ariful' had brought the workers from Satkhira, but left without paying them although the contractors themselves had been paid in advance. "The workers were chained so that they can't escape," Ratan said. Maj Ahsan Kabir who led the drive said no one would be spared, no matter who they were. One of the rescued, 'Faisal', said he was tied up for 14 days. "They used to tie us up at night in a room. We were under the watch of armed guards." http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=185671&cid=2 |
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