Bhadohi (UP), Sep 12 (PTI) Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Zahid Beg and his wife have been issued a notice for allegedly subjecting a minor girl to child labour at their official residence here for two and a half years, officials said on Thursday.
According to the officials, the Uttar Pradesh Labour Department served the notice to the couple in the afternoon, requiring a response within a week.
“The Labour Department has served a notice on Beg and his wife, accusing them of holding the 17-year-old captive and forcing her to work without pay,” Labour Enforcement Officer J P Singh said.
The action comes following the tragic suicide of another teenager at the MLA’s residence on Monday and the subsequent rescue of the 17-year-old girl during a raid conducted by Bhadohi police and Labour Enforcement Department personnel on Tuesday.
The girl was handed over to a social organisation after she appeared before the Child Welfare Committee. She also underwent a medical examination, which confirmed her age as 17, labour department officials said.
The Child Welfare Committee chairman, P C Upadhyay, recorded the girl’s statement and instructed the Labour Department to take appropriate action based on the evidence.
Beg and his wife will be required to deposit two and a half years’ wages into the rescued girl’s newly opened bank account. Failure to respond to the notice within a week will lead to further legal action, Singh said. Singh said that Beg and his wife will be required to deposit two and a half years’ wages into the rescued girl’s newly opened bank account. Failure to respond to the notice within a week will result in further legal proceedings.
The Labour Department is also filing a case against Beg and his wife in the court of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Bhadohi, he added. PTI COR CDN BHJ BHJ
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