BT Cotton child labour killed in accident in Gujarat

Prakash and Papppu at civil hospital, Ahmedabad. Their wives were injured in the accident. Police sent them civil hospital, Ahmedabad, where they were not admitted. Prakash and Pappu traveled from Patan to Ahmedabad only to find that their wives had been discharged. They called their relative in Rajashthan who told them that both women had not reached in village! 

On 20 August 2012 the apathy of Gujarat government towards BT Cotton child labourers has murdered a nine year old Tribal child from Rajasthan. The jeep carrying them plunged into a roadside rivulet near Charup village of Patan. The jeep fell into rivulet early in the morning at 4.00 AM after breaking the iron rods that had been put along the road as a crash barrier. The jeep was carrying Tribals of village Netaji ka bara – panchayat Ogana, Tesil jalod, District – Udepur. All labourers belonged to same village Netaji ka bara. On 19 August 2012, they were being taken to a village to work in BT Cotton fields. The deceased child was Sohanlal Mangilal Chauhan. Sohanlal was nine years old. This is a second incident of death of migrant Tribal labourers after mayhem near Sanand some days back when 24 Tribals salt workers including children were killed in a fatal accident. 

The deceased child was accompanied by his uncle. The policemen from Vagdod police station rushed on the spot. According to Prakash, one survivor, police asked the victims to return their village with the dead body of Sohan. Two women were sent to Ahmedabad for further treatment. They were accompanied by Haresh, who was also the agent who lured them to work somewhere near Shihori in Kankrej Tehsil of Banaskantha district. 

On 21 August, 2012 the details of accident published in newspapers, though the electronic media has already highlighted the incident. Our colleague Dipak Dabhi of Adivasi Sarvangi Vikas Sangh (ASVS) rushed to Patan, where he met Prakash and Pappu, two young persones, who were very anxious to know about their spouses who were taken to Ahmedabad civil hospital for further treatment. 

They contacted us and we had searched in civil hospital’s trauma centre, but we could not find them. When Prakash (19) and Pappu (18) reached Ahmedabad, we again asked Trauma centre’s authority and to our utter surprise we came to know that they were discharged on the same day. Both women were deserted midway and Haresh did not accompany them in civil hospital. According to Prakash, his wife Vaktu could not even walk and Pappu’s wife Devli has a ruptured nose and she has 12 stitches on head. Both women on their own reached their village Netaji Ka bara. 

We have contacted Prakash today and he told us that all victims are still seriously injured and they could not walk.