Andhra Pradesh: Tribal woman’s son kept as ‘collateral’ for Rs 25,000 loan; found in grave
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): A duck-rearer in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati and his family members were arrested for keeping a tribal woman and her three children as bonded labourers for a loan of Rs 25,000, making her keep her nine-year-old son as “collateral” and secretly burying the boy’s body claiming that he died of jaundice, media reports said.
After the woman approached the man with the money he had asked for the release of her son, he turned the woman away, saying that the boy had run away, according to an NDTV report.
Only after a police case was lodged, the man revealed that he had buried the boy’s body near his in-law’s house in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram.
Anakamma, a resident of Tirupati, last spoke to her son on April 12. During each call, the boy—sent to work for a duck rearer—pleaded with her to rescue him, saying he was being made to work excessively.
By the final week of April, Anakamma had managed to arrange the money and called the employer to bring her son back. Initially, the man claimed the child had been sent elsewhere.
When she kept pressing, he changed his story—first saying the boy had been hospitalised, then that he had run away.
Investigation reveals secret burial
Fearing foul play, Anakamma sought help from tribal leaders and approached the local police.
A team was formed, and during interrogation, the duck rearer admitted the boy had died and that he had secretly buried the body in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
He, his wife, and his son were arrested. A case was registered on Monday under several laws, including the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, Child Labour Act, Juvenile Justice Act, SC/ST Atrocities Act, and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The police exhumed the boy’s body on Tuesday, and a post-mortem is underway.
Tirupati Collector Venkateswar told NDTV that the case is being taken very seriously.
“There is CCTV footage showing the boy being taken to a hospital. The duck rearer’s family claims he died of jaundice. But he was buried without informing his family. That is a serious concern,” he said.
Tribal community vulnerable to bondage
Activists pointed out that the Yanadi tribal community is especially vulnerable to bonded labour. At least 50 members of the tribe have been rescued recently. “Usually, an advance is used to trap the victims,” said one activist.
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