Hyderabad: A team of Revenue, Labour, and Police officials managed to rescue 12 members of a family from Uttar Pradesh, including six children aged between three and 10, from a bonded labour situation at a construction facility in Bachupally, Medchal-Malkajgiri district.
The government action on Tuesday, September 29, followed a complaint submitted by social workers to the Revenue Divisional Officer, Medchal-Malkajgiri district, about the working and living conditions of migrant workers from UP.
The workers told officials that they were assaulted and threatened when they sought their pending wages or wished to go home.
While their belongings were allegedly locked away, they were not allowed to even leave as a family, they said.
They were recruited in Uttar Pradesh allegedly through a trafficker who promised them work in Hyderabad at wages of around Rs 1,200 a day.
The workers said they had been working on a contract and living at the facility since September 2025. Some of them received an advance of around Rs 5,000 per family, while others said the advance promised to them was never paid.
What changed once they started work
Once they started work, they were told they would be paid Rs 12,000 a month, with the balance to be settled when they left. However, they were given around Rs 1,000 per family per week, which breaks down to about Rs 143 a day for an entire family.
While they alleged they were never allowed an off, sick and injured workers were not provided adequate medical treatment. One of them alleged that he was physically assaulted multiple times.
During the inspection, officials found four women from the family, aged 40, 25, 20, and 19, with the six children. They were living in tin-sheet rooms without ventilation, where they were also cooking and defecating.
The supervisors were taken into custody, and the Miyapur Police have begun an investigation.
