“She was studying in Class 12,” says Shyamala*, her voice trembling. “Now we are struggling to even get her home.”

For two months, Shyamala, 41, has waited for her daughter Jyoti* to come back to their home in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhalapuri village. Jyoti, who is 18 and a member of a Scheduled Tribe, was allegedly held captive for nearly two months in Delhi by the owner of a placement agency. 

Her family says she was ‘trafficked’ to Delhi from Madhya Pradesh by a local man named Dhaniram. When she arrived in Delhi, she was allegedly beaten over two months, forced to work in several households, and fed only every third day. 

While Jyoti was eventually rescued on February 27, the police still haven’t filed an FIR in the case – despite clear instruction from a sub-divisional magistrate to do so. 

This delay has meant that Jyoti is stuck in limbo, living in a shelter home in Delhi – allegedly standard procedure in such cases – while her mother anxiously waits for the FIR to be filed. No one has been arrested yet.

“I want the trafficker and the owner to be punished,” says Jyoti’s aunt Priya*. “They have tortured our daughter to this cruel extent and yet no action has been taken against them as yet.”

The sequence of events 

Shyamala is a single mother and a member of a Scheduled Tribe. Her village of Bhalapuri is located in Dindori district, one of the poorest in the state. 

The sequence of events leading to Jyoti’s trafficking is unclear. Based on conversations with Shyamala and a local NGO, this is what Newslaundry learned:

That morning in January, Shyamala left home for MGNREGA work leaving Jyoti behind. Jyoti “went out for a walk” where she met a local named Dhaniram, who allegedly told her that he could find her a “well-paying job” in Delhi. Newslaundry couldn’t find out much about Dhaniram’s background.

Hoping to make a better life for herself and her mother, Jyoti is said to have left with Dhaniram, staying with him for four days until he took her to Delhi. In Delhi, he allegedly introduced Jyoti to an owner of a placement agency, who then kept her “captive”, forcing her to work for no pay and little food. Newslaundry is not naming the agency since the investigation is ongoing.

Eight days after Jyoti left home, Shyamala, who was frantically searching for her daughter, received a phone call. 

“She had finally managed to hide and call me from another girl’s phone,” Shyamala told Newslaundry. “She was crying, telling me she wanted to come home. But the agency owner told her she could only leave if she paid Rs 10,000. I had no money to send her, but I promised her I would come for her.”

With the help of Jyoti’s schoolteacher, Shyamala contacted the Pradeepan Foundation, a Madhya Pradesh NGO that works on women’s issues like discrimination, violence and trafficking. A volunteer from Pradeepan, who did not want to be named, told Newslaundry that Shyamala did not want to file an FIR in Madhya Pradesh since she was worried that her daughter would be “relocated to another location” if those holding her captive learned about the FIR. 

So, volunteers from Pradeepan travelled with Shyamala to Delhi on February 25 and helped her file a complaint with the sub-divisional magistrate of Rajouri Garden. 

Newslaundry was informed that it’s usually protocol to approach an SDM to file a complaint in cases of bonded labour. A Pradeepan volunteer added that cases of trafficking and bonded labour tend to fall under the respective SDM, on whose instruction rescue teams are formed. 

So, on February 27, a team was assembled comprising tehsildars, cops from Rajouri Garden police station, and three NGOs: Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Bal Vikas Dhara, and Pradeepan. The team went to the placement agency where Jyoti was found and eventually rescued.

Delay in FIR 

In India, over 3.15 lakh people like Jyoti have been rescued from bonded labour in the last 45 years – an average of 4,696 rescues every year from 1978 to 2023. A 2024 report by the US State Department noted that in 2022, 1,421 new cases of bonded labour were recorded in India under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976.  In the same year, 1,362 people were convicted across 4,503 cases.

Under the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers 2021, an individual freed from bonded labour must be issued a document called a ‘release certificate’ within 24 hours. This entitles the individual to receive an ex-gratia amount of Rs 30,000 for immediate relief.

In Jyoti’s case, hours after her rescue, Iti Agarwal, the sub-divisional magistrate of Rajouri Garden, issued a release certificate. She also directed the Rajouri Garden police to file an FIR against the agency and the trafficker. 

The police did not. When asked why, MS Kamal, the station house office of Rajouri Garden, told Newslaundry: “There are many procedures in such cases, such as sending the details to Nari Niketan and other agencies even after the rescue.” He did not answer further questions. Nari Niketan is a Delhi government-run institution that shelters destitute women.

Adding to the confusion, the case was transferred on March 3 to Malviya Nagar police station due to “jurisdictional issues”, according to SHO Kamal. 

This delay has left Jyoti in a shelter home, awaiting the next steps of the investigation. Members of the Pradeepan Foundation told Newslaundry this shelter is often provided as additional protection to a rescued labourer to prevent them from being trafficked again, and also to “cope with trauma”.

David Sundar Singh, a human rights lawyer who works on cases of bonded labour, told Newslaundry that a zero FIR “should have been filed immediately, allowing the case to proceed regardless of jurisdiction”. A zero FIR can be filed by the police at any police station, regardless of the location of the crime or its jurisdiction.

“If the SDM has given a clear direction, why is it being ignored?” Singh asked.

When Newslaundry asked SHO Kamal why a zero FIR wasn’t filed, he said, “We usually file a zero FIR when the case is to be transferred outside Delhi, otherwise the police complaint works.” 

Newslaundry then contacted Mukesh Kumar, the SHO of Malviya Nagar police station. He alleged the police are still “waiting for the complaint” from Rajouri Garden police station. “Only once we have an update can we answer anything about the case,” he said. 

This process too seems steeped in red tape – Newslaundry was informed that it’s Shyamala’s original complaint with the SDM that is in the process of being transferred to Malviya Nagar police station.

Additionally, even though she’s got a release certificate, Jyoti still hasn’t received the ex-gratia amount of Rs 30,000 under the act.

She’s also entitled to financial and non-financial support under the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers. However, this financial aid is contingent on the conviction of the accused employer.

“To make sure the rest of the financial aid reaches the victim, conviction is important. But when an FIR is not registered, the very first step towards taking the case to court becomes difficult,” Singh pointed out. 

We also spoke to Sonu Tomar, a member of the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, an NGO that works on bonded labour in India. Tomar said, “Even after the FIR is filed, the conviction in such cases takes years. Thus, the rescued labourer doesn’t get the rehabilitation amount for years.”

*Names changed to protect identity. 

There’s a reason for people to have so little faith in the police. From Delhi to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra to West Bengal, police excesses take many forms. What unites them is a culture of impunity. NL and TNM will investigate these excesses and their impact in our new Sena project. Click here to contribute.