In Maharashtra’s Dharashiv (Osmanabad) district, 11 men were subjected to bonded labour before an IPS officer rescued them.

One of them (who wishes to be anonymous) shared more about this ordeal, saying, “I was told there was some electrical and painting work to be done at this site in Dharashiv, Osmanabad.”

“I agreed because they promised me Rs 700 per day along with meals,” he added. However, the promise was a lie. The men were made to work in a well from 7 am to 10 pm without a break. Their phones were confiscated.

Their sustenance was a jowar bhakri (flatbread made of sorghum) and salt.

Elaborating on the rescue operation, IPS Officer Atul Kulkarni recalls how one of the men managed to escape the well and reached the police station to file a complaint.

“I sent a group of officers to the site to unearth more details and find the other bonded labourers.” But two hours of scouring the property yielded nothing.

“The culprits [the contractors] kept insisting that there was no foul play and that only farming was going on. My team began checking the rooms on the property, and on opening one of the doors, we saw the men,” Kulkarni continues.

“Their hands and feet had been completely chained and they were unable to move. They were all tied in one room with barely any food and water,” he adds.

Kulkarni and his team removed the chains and set them free; they approached the social welfare, revenue, and labour departments to ensure that the 11 men were justly compromised for the unfair hand they had been dealt.

The men were given skill development and training, enabling them to find dignified work. Today, all 11 victims of the case have found hope in their newfound roles.

From a software engineer to now an integral part of the country’s law and order system, Kulkarni says, working for social justice is core to his work. At 28, the young engineer decided to take a leap and appear for the UPSC exam. He cleared it on the first attempt.

Since then, Kulkarni has been breaking new ground with every project he undertakes. His newest ‘Criminal Rehabilitation’ project at Dharashiv in Maharashtra is founded on this premise.

Today, 30 villages of the Dharashiv district come under the purview of this project, whose goals include addressing water-related issues, promoting sustainable farming practices, improving healthcare, enhancing education opportunities, and addressing women-related crimes.