An operation carried out by officials and police, led by Revenue Division Officer (RDO) of Dharapuram G. Saravanamurthy rescued 23 girls aged between 11 and 18 years from a spinning mill at Olapalayam village near Kangayam, Tirupur. One of the girls called the RDO of Erode and complained about harassment and ill treatment meted out to girls working in the mill.
The Erode RDO shared the information with Tirupur District Collector G. Govindaraj and formed a team comprising Deputy Director of Industrial Safety and Health Department, Kangayam Tahsildar, Assistant Inspector of Labour, District Child Protection Officer, Childline, and All Woman Police Station at Kangayam to inspect the unit and enquire into the allegations.
The RDO said that two girls were ready to lodge a complaint with the police and there were 540 girls working in the mill and 10 girls were aged 11 to 14 years. The remaining 13 girls complained of torture and physical abuse and wanted to go home. Rescued girls alleged that they were beaten up and were promised part time jobs and an opportunity to study but were cheated. As their mobile phones were also taken away, they could not talk with their parents who are in Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Madurai districts.