Life term for labour contractors for chopping palms

Eight persons were today sentenced to life imprisonment for chopping off the palms of two labourers three years ago when they tried to flee from the clutches of contractors, a gruesome incident that had evoked widespread outrage.
Additional District and Sessions Judge, Dharmagarh, A C Behera while convicting the two labour contractors and their associates, described the incident as heinous.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on December 15, 2013 when Deyalu Nial and Nilamber Dhangda Maji along with 12 labourers made a bid to escape from the labour contractors who were trying to take them to Hyderabad instead of Raipur.

Deyalu and Nilamber were eventually caught and punished in a barbaric manner with their palms chopped off by the middlemen and agents.
One of the victims - Nilamber Maji - died around three months ago following critical illness.
Terming the offence as heinous, the judge observed that it was a crime against the society and the sentence will serve as a deterrence.
The convicts were identified as Prabesh alias Parmame Dundi, Baijanath Rauti, Arjun Bhoi, Ganghadar Das, Bana Majhi, Jayasen Thela, Bimala Rout and Mantu Nial.
They were convicted for crimes under sections 16 & 17 of Bonded Labour Act, 1976 and Sections 120B, 307, 323, 326, 364A, 365, 342, 370, 506 and 420 of the IPC.