By NNN-PTI

Bolangir (Orissa) : At least 200 persons, including women and children, were rescued from forced labour and 25 middlemen were arrested in this regard, police said Friday.

The labourers from Bolangir and Sonepur districts, who were being taken to Hyderabad, were rescued in the past seven days while the middlemen were arrested in raids carried out yesterday with the help of local labour contractors, Bolangir Superintendent of Police Himangshu Kumar Lal told PTI.

Cases have been charged against the middlemen, he added.

The rescued include 70 persons, who were confined for three days in a forest in the jurisdiction of Turekela police station area and 30 others, who were rescued from Titilagarh railway station.

While 25 persons were found in Kaudiapali area, a same number of labourers were rescued by Belpara police yesterday.

Small farmers used to migrate to Andhra Pradesh and other parts of the country for at least six months after Nuakhai, an agrarian festival celebrated by people in Western Orissa.

Taking advantage of this, labour agents from Andhra Pradesh used to come during 'Dusshera' and keep contact with the local 'dalals' (middlemen) for transportation of labourers by paying handsome money in advance, police said.