Minister's Brother Accountable in Child Labor Case
Hajipur: Dec. 26, 2007
Labor Commission, in its report on Wednesday held Raghuraj Singh, the brother of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Union Minister Dr. Raghuvansh Singh, guilty of employing under-age children to plough his farm as reported by some local media channels earlier this month.
A high level team led by Labor Commissioner Ramchandra Chowdhary and Vimla Nand Jha, at the behest of Vaishali District Magistrate Dr. Pratima, investigated the allegations and after holding interviews with the villagers and scrutinizing the video tape of the two children engaged in the field as shown in the media, concluded that Singh indeed employed children to do works in his field in Shahpur.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, confirming the report of the Labor Commissioner, said what Raghuraj Singh did was inhuman and legal actions against him could be forthcoming in next few days.
The state has sought the opinion of the Attorney General in the case before any action is taken against the brother of the Union Minister, reports said.
"There is absolutely no indication that the TV reporters faked the entire human-plough drama to trap Singh. The investigative committee looked into the actual footing, talked to children in question, and reviewed post-scandal interviews given to the media by Singh and it is abundantly clear that under-age children were being employed to plough the field 'as it brings good fortune' to the landowner," official at the Labor department in Hajipur said.
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