India, June 25 -- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed the atrocities against labourers in a factory in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh as an "assault on human dignity" and sought justice for them and harshest possible punishment to the perpetrators.

Twelve bonded labourers, including minors, bearing visible torture marks and injuries on their bodies, were rescued on Monday from a paper plate manufacturing factory in Mandi village in Muzaffarnagar district following a raid conducted by the police.

In a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said that when jobs dry up and safeguards like MGNREGA and labour laws for the vulnerable are weakened, then desperation only mounts. "The case of bonded labour among workers in Muzaffarnagar...