Pune: In a disturbing case of labor exploitation, 50 workers—many of them migrants—were allegedly confined, assaulted, and threatened for demanding their wages in Ranjangaon MIDC.
The accused, including labor contractors, are said to have forced the workers into unpaid labor and resorted to physical violence to silence them. The Ranjangaon MIDC police arrested three suspects, while one remains at large.
According to police reports, several laborers had come to Ranjangaon MIDC looking for work. They were hired by labor contractors Anand Waghalkar and Sunil Waghalkar, who placed them in various companies. However, when the workers asked for their wages on January 25, they were locked up in a room in Dhok Sangvi instead.
The accused allegedly used a pattern of forced labor—taking some workers to job sites, making them work, and then bringing them back to confinement. This cycle continued for days.
Some of the workers became ill, and when they asked for medical assistance, they were reportedly beaten with plastic pipes by Anand and Sunil Waghalkar, supervisor Akshay Kale, and food supplier Prashant Salve. The brutal treatment created a climate of fear among the workers.
One of the confined workers managed to escape and immediately reported the situation to the Ranjangaon MIDC police station. Police Inspector Mahadev Waghmode, Sub-Inspector Avinash Thorat, and officers Dattatraya Shinde and Sandeep Jagdale led a rescue operation.
The police team raided a room in Dhok Sangvi owned by Navnath Abhang and successfully freed over 50 workers. After recording their statements, a formal case was registered against the accused.
The four accused in the case are Anand Waghalkar, Sunil Waghalkar, Prashant Salve, and Akshay Kale. While Kale is absconding, the police have arrested the other three and presented them before the court. The accused have been remanded to police custody until Wednesday (February 5) for further investigation.
