Police investigate India's Som Distilleries over allegations of employing children

Som Distilleries and Breweries

17/06/2024 12:28

NEW DELHI, June 17 (Reuters) - Police said on Monday
they had launched an investigation into India's Som Distilleries
and Breweries Ltd  SDB.NS  after the government's child rights
agency announced it had found children working at a distillery.
    A case under juvenile justice and bonded labour laws was
filed on Sunday, one police officer said, a day after the
National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights (NCPCR) said
it had found more than 50 children in the plant.
    Som, which makes Hunter and Woodpecker beer, did not respond
to calls requesting comment on Monday, a public holiday. There
was also no response to calls to Som Group CEO Deepak Arora. 
    The NCPCR, a federal government agency, said it had
inspected the site in Raisen district in the central state of
Madhya Pradesh after a complaint from child rights activists.   
    "More than 50 children were found working in the manufacture
of liquor, including 20 girls," NCPCR chairperson Priyank
Kanoongo wrote on X on Saturday.
    "Due to being in contact with chemicals, the skin of many
children's hands has also been burnt. Action is being taken to
rescue the children and register" a police complaint, he added.
    Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the case was
"very serious" and "strictest action will be taken against the
culprits".
        District labour officer G.S. Mehdele said the ages of 59
workers was being verified to determine if they were under-age.
  
    The Raisen operation is Som's largest plant in India with
distillation, storage and maturation facilities, according to
the company's website.

 (Reporting by Tanvi Mehta and Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar;
Editing by YP Rajesh and Andrew Heavens)
 ((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/TanviMehta710;))