Nine-year-old Venkateshu, left as debt collateral by his mother, died in April. Though jaundice was cited, a post-mortem showed a skull injury. Three were booked; similar cases persist in Andhra Pradesh
Published May 25, 2025 | 12:28 PM ⚊ Updated May 25, 2025 | 12:28 PM
Family mourning the death of Venkateshu (supplied)
Synopsis: A tragic case of bonded labour emerged in Andhra Pradesh as a nine-year-old Yanadi boy, Venkateshu, died in captivity after being forced to rear ducks. Initially blamed on jaundice, a post-mortem revealed a skull injury. Three have been booked for murder. Shockingly, this follows another Yanadi couple’s rescue after 15 years of bonded labour in the state
A tragic case of bonded labour and child exploitation surfaced in Andhra Pradesh, where a nine-year-old Yanadi boy, forced to rear ducks for nearly a year, died under suspicious circumstances while in captivity.
The boy, Venkateshu, a resident of Gudur in the Tirupati district, had been left as collateral by his mother to settle a debt, but he died in April, allegedly due to jaundice. However, Puttur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) A Rajashekhar told South First that a later post-mortem revealed a skull injury.
Three people have been booked for murder and multiple other offences. Disturbingly, this is not an isolated case — just last month, another Yanadi couple was rescued after enduring 15 years of bonded labour in the same state.
Yanadi is a major Scheduled Tribe (ST) community in Andhra Pradesh, predominantly found in the Nellore, Chittoor, and Prakasham districts.
“About two years ago, Muthu and his wife Dhanabhagyam, duck rearers from Satyavedu, approached the victim’s family. They offered Anakamma and Chenchaiah, members of the Yanadi tribe, a job rearing ducks, asking them to move with their three children from Gudur to Satyavedu,” Puttur DSP A Rajashekhar explained to South First.
“After a year, following Chenchaiah’s death, Anakamma went back to Gudur to complete the final rites. However, she could not return to Satyavedu due to her husband’s debt of ₹25,000 with a local farmer in Gudur. Muthu then agreed to pay the entire amount, taking Anakamma and her three children back to work under his family,” he continued.
“However, as working conditions got worse at the farm, Anakamma asked to leave the job. Muthu informed her that she had to pay ₹45,000 if she wished to leave the farm, ₹25,000 repaying the principal amount and ₹20,000 as interest. He further informed Anakamma that she would have to leave one of her children behind as collateral if she wished to go out and arrange funds,” he said.
“Hence, in August 2024, Anakamma left her son Venkateshu with Muthu to arrange funds for their freedom. For the next nine months, Venkateshu continued to work for Muthu rearing ducks and taking them grazing around the Kanchi area in Tamil Nadu as well,” he stated.
Police looking for Venkateshu’s body in Tamil Nadu (supplied)
On 11 April, Venkateshu fell sick and was taken to the hospital in Pudupaalem for treatment,” DSP Rajashekhar revealed. “On 12 April, his condition worsened, and he died while receiving treatment. CCTV footage from Pudupaalem, Tamil Nadu, confirmed the same,” he noted.
“Fearing the legal repercussions of a Yanadi boy dying under them, Muthu, Dhanabhagyam, and Rajshekhar (their son) decided to bury him in the Kancheepuram area by a river and make up a story about how he ran away from them,” he added.
“However, on 15 May, Anakamma arrived in Satyavedu with the money, asking to take her son back. She was fed the story of him running away. When she approached the police on 19 May, we began the investigation,” he said.
“On 21 April, we took Muthu and his family into custody, where they confessed that Venkateshu died due to Jaundice and they buried him out of fear of legal consequences,” he reported. He stated that the family was booked under multiple acts in the case, including:
“We went to Kancheepuram and requested the local Tahsildar to exhume the body and sent it for post-mortem at the Chegalpattu Medical College. On 24 May, the post-mortem report revealed that there was a significant injury to Venkateshu’s skull. We have added murder charges under BNS Section 101, against the three as well,” he revealed. The family has been in remand since 22 May.
(Edited by Ananya Rao.)
