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From Train Station to Torture: A Teen's Fight for Survival
11 Jan
Summary
- A 15-year-old boy survived two months of bonded labor and violence.
- His left arm was severed by a machine and he was abandoned.
- The family faced immense hardship searching for him and covering costs.
Fifteen-year-old Santosh has finally returned to his home in Kishanganj, Bihar, but the scars of a harrowing six-month ordeal remain. What began as a brief attempt to fetch water during a train stop at Bahadurgarh railway station in Haryana turned into a nightmare of bonded labor, violence, and a life-altering injury.
In May last year, Santosh was traveling with his father, Bhimlal Rishidev, on the Farakka Express. When Santosh stepped onto the platform for water, the overcrowded train departed before he could get back on. Stranded without money or a phone, Santosh wandered for two days before a man offered him work, promising 10,000 rupees for two months of labor.
Instead of a job, Santosh was taken to a remote village near the Yamuna river and forced into bonded labor. He spent his days feeding buffaloes and cutting fodder under the threat of constant violence. When he tried to escape, he was caught and beaten by his employer and the employer's family. Meanwhile, his family searched desperately, moving between police stations in Haryana with no success.
