Non payment of salary and failure to provide the employment contract

1 year ago

I was employed by an early-stage start-up as a remote employee in April 2022. Initially, a monthly contract was drafted and I was given the employment letter as well. However, as months passed the employer kept renewing the contract as well as the terms of the contract. Then I was asked to move to their office in the state of Karnataka for a couple of months. After multiple negotiations, we reached a verbal agreement on a salary hike to cover the accommodation and travel expenses. My employer was supposed to draft the new contract and send it to me but instead, he asked for a few more days for drafting the contract. I moved to their Bangalore office and was paid the decided amount for the first month, although I had to remind the employer of the payment on each payday. Usually, the employer credits the salary in two parts, each 15 days apart. Suddenly, at the beginning of this month, my employer refused to credit the outstanding amount for the last 15 days of work. I tried reaching out on our company's messaging platform but my messages were ignored. Soon, I was removed from the messaging platform. I have sent him a formal email requesting the salary but haven't yet received any response. On reminding the employer over the phone, he told me he needs a few more days to respond to the email. I wasn't asked to resign nor have I submitted a resignation letter on my own. I did not receive any official email from the employer for the termination of the contract either. The only proof I have of our employment agreement are screenshots of our chat on the company's messaging platform and on Whatsapp. I have documented proof of having completed the assigned tasks for the previous month, for which my salary is being withheld. I also have proof of the reminders I had to send for the salary request. Unfortunately, I do not have the employment contract for the two months because the employer never drafted/sent it to me.
What should be done and how long will the procedure take? The lack of payment is causing me a lot of financial hardship and I have bills to pay before the due dates.