Maharashtra: Eight Igatpuri tribal kids ‘pawned’ 10 years ago still missing

Eight tribal children from Ubhade village in Igatpuri taluka remain missing for around a decade after their parents from the poor Katkari Samaj community agreed to send them to work at goat and sheep farms in Ahmednagar as bonded labourers in exchange for a meagre amount of money The recent death of 10yearold Gauri Agivle has brought the spotlight on the issue which led to the rescue of 11 children who were pawned off by their parentsJanki Wagh 9 who was rescuedActivists said it is a big racket wherein the middlemen visit the tribal families in Igatpuri who live in extreme poverty and convince them to part with their children some of them as young as five years old Top officials from revenue and tribal development departments along with local police in Ahmednagar are looking for the missing children and held several rounds of meetings with the local shepherd community midday has learntAlso Read Maharashtra Conservationists raise alarm over vanishing coastal ecosystems in RaigadThe midday team visited Ubhade village on GhotiSinnar Road in Igatpuri taluka where 138 tribals of Katkari Samaj have been staying in 26 huts The team found that the community lives in extreme poverty without any help despite the slew of schemes announced by the government for tribal welfare The residents alleged that they donrsquot even get ration provided by the governmentFrom left Janki Wagh her brother Sudam and Sudam Sitaram Bhoir who were rescuedSanjay Shinde president of the Igatpuri chapter of Shramjeevi Sanghatanamdashan NGO working for the rights of tribals in Maharashtra said ldquoThe parents send their kids off to work in sheep or goat farms with the middlemen without even knowing their background Initially they get to speak to the kids when the middlemen visit their locality to convince other families But this stops gradually and the parents are left without any information on their childrenrdquo A middleman Kantilal Karande who used to visit the village frequently is currently in police custody after Gaurirsquos deathlsquoTheyrsquore helplessrsquoDuring daylong conversations the tribals told midday that some of their children have been missing for many years Pakulabai Wagh mukhiya of the area said ldquoWe have been staying here for the last 40 years Karande would tell us that if children live here they may die in an accident on the busy road or drown in Darna dam So we thought it was better to send our children to work in sheepherding farmsrdquoSangamner police officers with Gauri Agivlersquos parents on WednesdayWagh had sent her two sonsmdashRaju and Karanmdashoff to Dongar village Sangamner taluka in Ahmednagar district years ago The children are among those rescued after the intervention of tribal leader Vivek Pandit who is also the chairman of a governmentappointed committee to look into the status of schemes for tribals in Maharashtra and NGOs following Gaurirsquos deathSpeaking on the condition of the tribe Gokul Hilam an NGO worker said ldquoThey eat when we get them something or else they starve This is the reason the middlemen are able to convince them to pawn their children for measly amounts of money and promises of a couple cattles a yearrdquolsquoDonrsquot know how kids arersquoSunita Devidas Mukane 40 sent her two sonsmdashDhondu and Pandu and daughter Laxmi to work in a sheep farm around seven years ago She said ldquoMy kids would have been between 11 and 15 years old by now I have not seen them even once since then When I ask Karande he says they are doing fine But I donrsquot know how or where they arerdquoWhile Mukane had chosen to send her kids that was not the case for 55yearold Vasant Baburao Pawar He said his two sons were picked up from the village when he was away ldquoKarande took my sons Gokul 8 and Tukaram 11 to Dongar My elder son managed to run away but I am yet to find the younger sonrdquo Pawar said Pinti Wagh 26 said ldquoMy brother Akash was 7 years old when Karande took him away It has been years and we have no clue where he isrdquolsquoWork or get abusedrsquoMajority of the 11 children who were rescued since Gaurirsquos death have been sent to a remand home Only three of themmdashSudam Sitaram Bhoir Sudam Vasant Wagh and his sister Janki Waghmdashcurrently live with their families in the village as their poor health condition stopped officials from taking themKantilal Karande a middleman left Vikas Kudnar who used to employ Gauri right Rawa Khatal one of the accusedTalking to midday Sudam aged 15 said ldquoI was taken to Sakur Mandva in Parner taluka Ahmednagar by Ramdas Lavhate There we had to wake up at 5 am everyday and were given our first meal around 12 noon I was told to clean sheep droppings fetch water and keep the premises cleanrdquoldquoI had to take the herd of sheep to the field everyday and would return in the evening Then I was given two bhakri and sabji Despite the hard work the employer Rama Pokale would always assault merdquo said Sudam who was pawned off by his brotherJanki 9 said ldquoWe were always working If the sheep entered anybody elsersquos field the landowner would assault me And then when I returned my employer would again abuse me for the same mistakerdquo The terror of that experience still weighs heavy on Jankirsquos brother who refused to talkMeanwhile speaking about the rescued children being taken to remand home tribal leader Pandit said ldquoThese children are not orphans They have not committed any offence So why have they been kept in remand home They should have been kept at the ashram shala in Shahpur dedicated for Katkari Samaj I have written to the chief minister to admit them in the ashram shalardquoCop SpeakThe first FIR was filed after Gaurirsquos death against three accused from Sangamner Later cops clubbed different missing children cases and registered two FIRs on September 7 ldquoWe have booked them under sections 16 enforcement of bonded labour 17 advancement of bonded debt and 18 extracting bonded labour under the bonded labour system of Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1976rdquo said an officer attached to Sangamner policeA team of cops from Ahmednagar also visited Ubhade on Wednesday to speak to Gaurirsquos parents Investigating officer Rahul Madne said ldquoOur investigations are underway A total of three FIRs have been registered and seven peoplemdashVikas Kudnar his wife Suman Prakash Punekar from Sangamner and Kantilal Karande Ramdas Lavhate Hari Bhau Khatal and Baban Pokale from Parker talukamdashhave been arrestedrdquo