Washington: Thirty Indians held under conditions akin to slavery in Tulsa in Okhlahoma have been freed, a report said on July 18.

The Indians, without proper visas, were working for a pickle factory on half the minimum wages and were denied adequate food, NBC-TV reported.

They were made to sleep in a small room in a warehouse and were locked in with a guard outside, it said.

Some of them managed to escape from the compound and went to a nearby church to tell their tale of woe.

One of those in the church happened to be a former US Justice Department official in the Civil Rights Division who contacted the authorities and had them released.

The owner denied to NBC that he did anything irregular. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration and Naturalisation Service authorities are looking into the matter.

The young workers said through a spokesman that they came here chasing the ‘American Dream’ of prosperity but were without proper visas.

PTI