Police investigate India's Som Distilleries over suspected child labour (updated)

Som Distilleries and Breweries

17/06/2024 16:08

(Adds Som comment paragraph 6-8, background paragraph 9)
       NEW DELHI, June 17 (Reuters) - Indian police said on
Monday they had launched an investigation into Som Distilleries
after the government's child rights agency announced it had
found children working at a distillery.
    The National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights
(NCPCR) said on Saturday it had found more than 50 children at a
plant in Raisen district in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
    "More than 50 children were found working in the manufacture
of liquor, including 20 girls," NCPCR chairperson Priyank
Kanoongo wrote on X.
        "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.
    
        Police officer Vikas Kumar Shahwal in Raisen told
Reuters police had opened a case under juvenile justice and
bonded labour laws.
        In a statement to Indian stock exchanges, Som
Distilleries and Breweries Ltd  SDB.NS  said the concerns were
related to a plant run by its "associate private limited
company".
    It said that company used labour supplied by contractors who
may not have carried out proper age verification for workers.
    "That company has extended full cooperation to the
authorities regarding the issue and (has) terminated the
services of the vendor," Som said in the statement, without
clarifying the services provided by the vendor.
    "We want to assure you that all the plants of our company
are fully compliant with all applicable laws."
    The Som group makes beer brands such as Hunter and
Woodpecker in India. It runs its largest brewery as well as a
distillery unit in Raisen district, its website says. 
        The NCPCR, a federal government agency, said it had
inspected the distillery in Raisen after a complaint from child
rights activists.
    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 were being verified to determine if they were under age.

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