When PRAYAS finally reached the police by phone early Thursday morning, they were informed that Patel had already been released on bail and that he had returned home, where Anil was still being held.  When pressed on whether they had attempted to rescue Anil when they arrested Patel, police washed their hands of any responsibility for the child laborer denying that they had any duty to secure his safety. They instead informed PRAYAS that this was an issue for child services or the labor inspectors, not the police.  When PRAYAS reached officials at the local labor commission, they too denied any responsibility, and in a dangerous game of bureaucratic hot potato, PRAYAS was instead given the names and numbers of three other government agencies to contact.

Kalpona Akter, and her colleagues in the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity struggle against the government’s threats of imprisonment for crimes like “incitement,” and labor organizer for the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity Aminul Islam, was found tortured and murdered on April 9^th, 2012. Labor and justice organizations worldwide are now calling for a full and impartial investigation of Aminul Islam’s death, and are mounting campaigns to bring the murderers to justice. In Bangladesh, where garment company owners have great influence with the government, improvements to worker safety and rights come in response to pressure from the outside multinational corporations who source their products from Bangladeshi manufacturers.