PATNA, March 27: An Indian state ordered a probe on Tuesday into allegations that a villager was forced into virtual slavery 27 years ago to repay a sackful of rice he borrowed from a moneylender.

Jawahar Manjhi's charge shocked the administration of the poverty-ridden eastern state of Bihar, where feudal landlords backed by private armies are still believed to employ bonded labour despite laws banning the practice.

Manjhi said he borrowed 40 kilograms of rice from a village moneylender in 1980 on the condition that he repay the debt by working in the fields.

“It was agreed I would pay off one kilogram of rice with each day of work,”said Manjhi, who was 45 years old when he took the loan to feed guests at a family wedding.

But abject poverty and hunger drove him to borrow more, Manjhi told reporters in his impoverished village of Paliganj, 40km from Patna.

“Originally the loan was about 40 kilos and now 27 years on I don't know how much I've repaid and how much more I still owe the lender,” said Manjhi.—AFP