Allegations of bonded labour and human trafficking have surfaced from Jammu district, where three migrant labour families from Chhattisgarh are reported to have been confined and compelled to work at brick kilns for nearly a year. The National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL) has claimed that the families, including women and children, were subjected to forced labour, wage manipulation and restrictions on movement, and that efforts are underway to secure their release.
According to information shared by NCCEBL, the affected workers are agricultural labourers from Chhattisgarh who cultivate paddy in their home state but migrate seasonally in search of employment due to the lack of year-round work. In February 2025, they were allegedly recruited through a local intermediary and transported to Jammu & Kashmir on 2 March 2025. They reportedly began work on 4 March 2025 at a brick kiln in Jammu district.
NCCEBL states that prior to their migration, advance payments were made to three workers — ₹40,000, ₹74,000, and ₹1,50,000 respectively — amounts that were later treated as debts. The workers were allegedly promised wages of ₹1,000 per thousand bricks for a five-month season ending in June 2025. Over four months, the three families reportedly produced approximately 3,68,000 bricks. However, at the time of settlement, the wage rate was allegedly reduced to ₹900 per thousand bricks. NCCEBL claims this led to a wage shortfall of around ₹1,60,000, which was shown as an outstanding debt to compel the families to continue working.
When the kiln season ended and the workers sought to return home, they were allegedly prevented from leaving. NCCEBL alleges that they were transferred without their consent to another brick kiln in the Kashmir region, and later to a site in Anantnag district between July and October 2025. During this period, the families reportedly produced around 3,17,000 bricks. Although the wage rate was allegedly fixed at ₹1,200 per thousand bricks, they were reportedly paid ₹940 per thousand bricks. NCCEBL claims that this resulted in an additional alleged deficit of ₹2,50,000, locally referred to as “Toot”, which was again shown as debt.
The organisation further alleges that, in order to recover this purported amount, the workers were transferred a third time — without what it describes as their free and informed consent — to another brick kiln in Jammu district. From November 2025 onwards, the families are said to have worked for about a month at a promised rate of ₹1,000 per thousand bricks, producing approximately 1,10,000 bricks collectively. At settlement, NCCEBL alleges that the calculation was made at ₹930 per thousand bricks, leading to a further claimed deficit of ₹2,00,000.
NCCEBL has stated that apart from the initial advances, the workers have not received full wage payments and have been given only small amounts intermittently for food. The organisation alleges that since December 2025, when the kiln shut down, the families have been kept at the premises without work or wages and have been prevented from leaving until the alleged debts are repaid. It claims that women and children have also been compelled to work and that attempts by the workers to leave were thwarted, with their children effectively anchoring them to the site.
Describing the situation as a case of bonded labour, NCCEBL said, “For one year, Chhattisgarhi labour families have been victims of human trafficking and bonded labour in Jammu,” adding that its team “is fighting for their liberation.” The organisation further stated, “Innocent children are being forced to work,” and argued that despite the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act being enacted five decades ago, “improper implementation continues to keep the bonded labour system alive.”
The organisation contends that the alleged imposition of artificial debts, restriction on movement, and manipulation of wages fulfil the legal criteria of bonded labour under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. It has also cited Article 23 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits forced labour, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, relating to unlawful compulsion and trafficking for forced labour.
The case was reportedly brought to NCCEBL’s attention by a representative of a Chhattisgarh-based labour union. On 7 February 2026, NCCEBL said it submitted a formal complaint by email to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, and followed up by phone. According to the organisation, the DC’s office subsequently ordered an inquiry.
On 9 February 2026, members of NCCEBL’s legal team met officials including the DC, Additional Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Labour Commissioner in Jammu. The organisation has alleged that the complainant was not permitted to join the rescue operation. It further claimed that during an on-site inspection by the Assistant Labour Commissioner, the workers were assaulted by persons associated with the kiln after the official initially began to leave. NCCEBL stated that the official returned to the site and that the workers were removed from the workplace that night. It also alleged that the workers’ signatures were taken on certain documents, the contents of which were not immediately clear.
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