Jharkhand govt bringing back state’s women ‘held hostage’ in Tamil Nadu: Official

Jamshedpur, Oct 8 (PTI) The Jharkhand government has made arrangements to bring back two tribal women from East Singhbhum district, who were allegedly “held hostage” by a private company in Tamil Nadu, an official said on Wednesday.

The two 18-year-old women had gone to Coimbatore to work in a textile unit in July. The company was not allowing them to return home despite their pleas, the official said.

Following an intervention of the state government, the two boarded a train and will reach Jharkhand on Thursday, Migrant Control Cell team leader Shikha Lakra told PTI.

The Cell functions under the Jharkhand Labour Department.

The matter came to light when JMM’s Potka MLA Sanjiv Sardar on late Tuesday night said in a post on X about the plight of two women from Bayangbil under Sundernagar Police Station limits.

The MLA tagged Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Karan Satyarthi in the post.

The CM directed the state labour department to look into the matter and take necessary action, Lakra said.

“We established contact with the textile company in Coimbatore. The two girls boarded the train on Wednesday and will be landing at Chakradhapur railway station on Thursday,” she said.

The families of the two, who are relatives of each other, on Monday “lodged a complaint with the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner and Potka JMM MLA Sanjiv Sardar about the girls being held hostage by the company and not allowing them to return home,” added Lakra.

Acting on the CM’s directive, the labour department got into action and established contact with both the girls and the private company, she said.

“They did not have any outstanding dues with the company,” said Lakra. PTI ANB NN