Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 28 (IANS): The Saharanpur police have rescued 24 people who were held hostage by a brick kiln owner in an isolated place in Deoband.

Police learnt of the plight of these people after a girl among them managed to send a message about their location from a mobile phone.

After receiving the information, a police team from the Deoband police station launched a search operation and managed to find the victims on Sunday night.

Akash Tomar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Saharanpur, said the police set free eight women and 16 children held hostage by the brick kiln owner, Alam Ahmad, and his aides.

The women and children, as young as three years, were held hostage after they asked the brick kiln owner for a raise in wages.

They told police that they were thrashed and were deprived of food and water for over seven hours a day.

"The brick kiln owner told us that he had already given Rs 4 lakh as an advance to the husbands of these women, but they had moved to other brick kilns. Enraged with this, he had decided to hold the women and children of these worker's hostage," said police officials.

Prabhakar Kenthura, station house officer (SHO) of Deoband police station, said, "Five people have been booked under IPC section 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 365 (whoever kidnaps or abducts any person with intent to cause that person to be secretly and wrongfully confined), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace.).

Alam Ahmad and other accused have been arrested and sent to jail. Further investigation is on, police said.