Twenty-eight bonded labourers, including 13 children as young as six, were rescued from a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat on Tuesday night district following a joint operation by the local administration and police.The labourers, belonging to seven families, were kept at KGF Krishna Brick Field in Nethla village, located a short distance from Delhi, where they were forced to work for over 12 hours a day without wages.The conditions of the workers were brought to the notice of the District Magistrate by the National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL). The rescue operation was carried out with the assistance of the local police.“I had sent my children to the kiln in October on the promise that they would earn ₹10,000 per month. For four months, they have been living in hell, with no food and no warmth,” said Harun Ali, whose three children were among those rescued.According to the complaint submitted to the District Magistrate, some members of the families had been working at the kiln since October 2025 while others were brought there in December. The committee noted that the labourers were not allowed to leave the premises unsupervised or seek work elsewhere. Mr. Ali said his two teenage daughters and 11-year-old son were taken to the kiln by a relative. “I came to know about what they endured only after they were rescued. The kiln owner and his men would threaten to kill them if they tried to leave or asked for wages. They were given raw rice, which they boiled and ate once a day. On some days, even that was not available. Even during Ramzan, the children were made to work while observing fasts,” he told The Hindu.Advance moneyIn October 2025, kiln owner Vijay Pal Pandit paid advance money to heads of several labourer families and brought entire families, including women and children, to work at the site. Mr. Pandit and his accountant, Rahul, allegedly forced them to work long hours under harsh conditions.“He told the workers that he had a strong influence and that the administration was ‘in his pocket’, which intimidated them. They feared retaliation and remained silent,” said Nirmal Gorana, national convener, NCCEBL. Mr. Gorana asked the district administration to issue release certificates to all rescued bonded and child labourers and provide immediate financial assistance of ₹30,000 each.Lawyers with the rescue team said rehabilitation would be key to prevent the families from being exploited again. Published - February 26, 2026 01:08 am IST