Migrant Workers Fed Drugs, Made To Work In Punjab Farms: Home Ministry Letter

The letter also flagged concerns over human trafficking, and said labourers were often given drugs to force them to work for extended hours in the field

A potentially massive dispute is brewing - between the Ministry of Home Affairs and a group of farmers from Punjab - after the ministry alleged that 58 "mentally challenged" people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were working as bonded labourers in farms in border districts of the state. In a sternly-worded letter to the Amarinder Singh government, the ministry said the labourers were from poor families living in remote areas of their home state, and had been "forced to work in inhuman conditions". State authorities were asked to deal with the "serious" problem. "BSF (Border Security Force) found these 58 people who were brought to Punjab with the promise of a good salary. However, they were exploited, given drugs and forced to work in inhuman conditions," a letter addressed to the Punjab Chief Secretary stated. According to the ministry's letter the labourers were rescued from Punjab border areas like Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Abohar between 2019 and 2020.