LUCKNOW: Satyendra was only 11 when he was abducted by a truck driver only to be sold as child labour to an owner of a cattle barn on the outskirts of Amritsar.
In confinement for over three years, every night he used to dream of setting himself free and returning to his parents, who were over 1,000km away from him.
One day, finding an opportunity to escape, the boy ran away and reached Amritsar railway station, where ChildLine rescued him.
“There were around six other teenage boys from different states who were brought to the barn for labour. Our job was to feed cattle and keep the barn clean. We were given new identities and converted to other religions. I was called Shiva and was asked to wear a turban. They used to assault me and keep me starved if I insisted on leaving. Months passed and I accepted my fate but could not forget my parents and village,” said Satyendra, who hails from Mahona village of Itaunja.
Sitting in the lap of his mother, Sudevi, the teenager said, “I was taken to Katrayaina Kala village which is on the outskirts of Amritsar city. We were shackled before sleep.”
Sumit Yadav, a cousin of Satyendra who went to Amritsar to get him, said, “Itauja police did not lodge FIR even after a written complaint. For months, police kept on misleading the family and evaded questions about their son’s whereabouts. They never made an attempt to search for him.”
