TW: This petition discusses the tragic death of a young girl.

Sita (name changed), a 13-year-old Adivasi girl from Madhya Pradesh, was found hanging in a room on a farm in Gujarat, where she and her 9-year-old brother were forced to stay behind and work after their elder brother and sister-in-law were driven away by the farm owner. Her death, considered a case of suicide by the police, is symbolic of the brutal exploitation of migrant Adivasi bhagiya labourers and the systemic violence faced by thousands of women and child workers in Gujarat's farms. We demand urgent action to register a case under Section 108 BNS and ensure a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Sita's case is part of a much larger problem rooted in the exploitative bhagiya (sharecropping) system, which traps migrant Adivasi families in unsafe and inhumane working conditions. The bhagiya system is a form of farm labour arrangement in which families live on the farm throughout the season, working in exchange for a portion of the crop instead of wages. Bhagiya labour, which forms the backbone of agriculture in Saurashtra and North-Central Gujarat, is widely considered a modern version of the bonded labour system prevalent in earlier times. Most bhagiya workers are migrant Adivasi families from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. They work under unsafe and inhumane conditions on these farms, and incidents of sexual violence and abuse against the women workers are shockingly common.

It is this deeply oppressive system that claimed Sita's young life, trapping her in conditions no child should ever have to endure.

The facts of the case:

• Sita (name changed) was a 13-year-old Adivasi girl from Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh. On the morning of 22nd November, 2024, she was found hanging from the ceiling inside a room on a farm in Bhavpura village, Porbandar district, Gujarat. At the time of her death, allegedly, only Sita and her 9-year-old younger brother were present at the farm. 
  
  
• Sita had migrated to work on this farm as a bhagiya labourer (sharecropper) along with her elder brother and his wife. Due to her pregnant sister-in-law’s delivery, her brother and sister-in-law had been at the hospital for 15 days. When they returned, they had an altercation with the farm owner, who beat them up and drove them away but forced Sita and her younger brother to stay behind and continue working. Four days later, Sita was found dead.
  
  
• Sita’s father lodged a complaint with the police against the farm owner, expressing his suspicion of foul play and requesting an FIR against the owner. However, the police are treating this as a case of suicide.

Even if we accept the police's theory, this is clearly a case of abetment to suicide under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The girl took her own life due to the severe distress caused by being forcibly kept on the farm and made to work.

We demand that the Bagvadar Police, District Porbandar, register a case under Section 108 in this matter. A thorough investigation should be conducted so that Sita can get justice. 

13-year-old Sita's tragic death is an urgent reminder of the countless Adivasi women and child workers who face relentless sexual violence and exploitative, inhumane conditions on farms in Saurashtra and North-Central Gujarat. 

Over the past 15 years, the Paschim Bharat Mazdoor Adhikar Manch (PBMAM), which has worked extensively with bhagiya labourers, has received over 30 such cases in which legal proceedings are ongoing at various stages. The vast majority of these cases never come to light.

In a nation that flaunts "Vibrant Gujarat" and dreams of a 5-trillion-dollar economy, the reality for its most marginalized workers - violence, exploitation, and indignity - exposes the deep systemic oppression that sustains this vision of growth. Ensuring safe and dignified workplaces for working women is a fundamental responsibility of any society that claims to value progress.