India, June 25 -- Day after the police uncovered a harrowing bonded labour racket in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed it as 'utterly shocking' and an 'assault on human dignity', with Priyanka Gandhi also echoing the thoughts.

"In addition to forcing them to work without wages, the workers were bitten by dogs, stabbed with spears, whipped, and fed animal fodder. This is an assault on human dignity-victims must receive justice along with rehabilitation, and the perpetrators the harshest possible punishment," Rahul, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, wrote in a post on X.

The police said on Wednesday that 12 bonded labourers were freed from captivity in Muzzafarnagar after one of them on June ...