JAMSHEDPUR: Close to 200 women workers from
East Singhbhum
, who were abruptly removed from their job and asked to leave town immediately by the management of a fish export company in
Andhra Pradesh after they protested the rape of an underage woman employee, reached Jamshedpur on Thursday. DDC Parmeshwar Bhagat has assured the migrant workers of a detailed probe on the matter and action against the guilty. “A direction has been issued and police will probe the matter,” Bhagat told TOI.
Dhalbhumgarh police station in-charge Avanish Kumar said, “We were informed of the incident on Thursday but since it took place in another state, we will coordinate with the police station concerned for investigating the case.”
Most of these workers belong to Chakulia, Musaboni, Dhalbhumgarh and Ghatshila. One Geetarani Kumari, who is from Dumaria, said that they worked in Niketi Foods Ltd, which packages and exports sea fish in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
The underage woman, who was raped, is a resident of Dhalbhumgarh and she did not return with the other employees as the company management did not allow her to leave the workplace.
On November 19, the floor shop manager of the company called the woman to his room and raped her. Later when the woman narrated her ordeal to her colleagues, all of them approached the management for action against the culprit. “But instead of taking action against him, the management removed us from our job and asked us to leave immediately,” Geetarani said.
The manager’s name could not be ascertained as a complaint is yet to be lodged with the police.
The women also claimed that the company neither provided them a decent salary nor proper meals.
Ghatshila MLA Ramdas Soren said the officials of the state labour department have been informed of the matter and an investigation is awaited. “The agents who lured the villagers to the southern state on false assurances of a high remuneration and better future will face action,” he added.
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