MP Distillery Sealed After Child Labor Found: Licence Suspended

Raisen (MP), Jun 20 (PTI) A distillery linked to Som Group in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district has been sealed and its manufacturing licence temporarily suspended by state authorities, days after 58 children, including girls, were found working there in violation of rules, officials said on Thursday.
The alleged use of child labourers at the factory came to light after a raid by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
The state excise department sealed the plant at Sehatganj, about 30km from the district headquarters on Wednesday evening, Raisen district assistant excise officer Sudeep Tomar confirmed to PTI.
The unit's manufacturing licence has been suspended for 20 days, he said.
Som Distilleries & Breweries is an ISO-certified group of companies engaged in manufacturing and supplying of beer, IMFL (India Made Foreign Liquor) and RTD (ready to drink) beverages.
"We served a three-day returnable show cause notice to Som Distilleries following a raid at their plant on June 15," said Tomar.
After the company failed to give a satisfactory reply regarding child labour issue, state excise commissioner Abhijeet Agrawal took the action, he added.
The sealed plant's general manager, GD Arora, declined to speak on the issue.
Som Distilleries Director Alok Arora did not respond to phone calls or messages.
On June 15, the NCPCR, along with the Association of Voluntary Action, also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), an anti-trafficking and anti-slavery grassroots movement founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, raided the plant.
A team led by NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanoongo rescued 39 boys and 19 girls from the plant, BBA said.
"Children with severely burnt and wounded hands from exposure to harsh chemicals and alcohol were transported by their employer in a school bus to the plant, where they worked for 12-14 hours every day," people involved in the raid said.
These children were hardly paid any wages, they added.
Som Distilleries and Breweries, in an exchange filing after the raid, clarified the concerns highlighted in the media are related to an associate private limited company and not the listed entity.
"We wish to clarify these concerns are not related to Som Distilleries and Breweries Ltd but relate to our associate Private Limited company which deals in country liquor primarily, and not the listed company as reported," it said.
The liquor manufacturing firm had said the labour for the associate company is supplied by contractors who may not have done proper age verification before allowing workers at the factory.
"It may be the fault of the contractors who may not have got proper age verification done of the workers being allowed to work at that company. That company has extended full cooperation to the authorities regarding the issue and have terminated the services of the vendor through the directors of that company," said Som Distilleries.
All plants of the company are fully compliant with applicable laws and have necessary permissions, it maintained.
After the NCPCR-led action, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said the raid at the factory was a serious matter.


"Received detailed information from the labour, excise and police departments, and direction has been given for taking appropriate action. Strict action will be taken against the guilty," Yadav had said in a post on X.