M A I N   N E W S

99 Maruti workers arrested for arson
* Plant closed indefinitely * SIT set up * Over 100 hospitalised 
* Deceased was GM-HR 
Sumedha Sharma/TNS

Gurgaon, July 19
The Haryana Police on Thursday arrested 99 workers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s Manesar plant in connection with Wednesday’s violence in which a senior company official was killed and many injured. The factory management has shut the plant indefinitely.

The burnt front area of the Maruti factory. Tribune photo

The charred body of the official, who was caught in the violence triggered by a scuffle over suspension of an employee, was today identified as that of Avnish Kumar Dev, General Manager HR at the plant. A relative identified Dev’s body from his clothes.

About 100 persons have been admitted across four hospitals in Gurgaon. Out of these, eight persons, including two Japanese officials, are in the ICU. The Japanese Embassy has condemned the violence at the plant. “We strongly hope that the state would act promptly and punish the guilty,” it said in a stat ement.

Nine policemen were also injured in the fracas. Doctors said most of the injured had head and arm fractures that appeared to have been caused by blunt objects such as rods.

The arrested workers were produced in a local court and were likely to be tried on various charges, including murder, attempt to murder, causing grievous injuries and damage to property. Out of these, 91 workers have been sent to judicial custody. These include several union leaders.

The arrests were made after the police went through CCTV footage and questioned witnesses. They are on the lookout for 300 others who were involved in the incident. Around 1,200 policemen continue to be deployed at the factory. The company will soon take a call on resuming operations at the plant after assessing the damage. The company, however, clarified that the there was no damage to the production line.

“Only administrative offices have been destroyed. We had controlled the situation at night, though some policeman also sustained injuries,” Gurgaon DCP East Maheshwar Dayal said.

Haryana Chief Secretary PK Chaudhery announced setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Gurgaon Assistant Commissioner of Police to probe the violence.

“No one who took the law in his hands would be spared. Prompt action by the Gurgaon district administration and police prevented further damage. What happened was not a labour issue, but a scuffle between a worker and supervisor that turned ugly and will be dealt with accordingly. Haryana is investor-friendly and such incidents cannot mar its image,” Chaudhary said.

Maruti Suzuki workers had allegedly ransacked the Manesar premises last night and set a portion of it on fire.

A scuffle reportedly ensued between workers and company officials after a supervisor abused and suspended a worker. The worker union gave a call for a strike and its members allegedly beat up several senior officials of the company.

At a press conference later in the day, Industries and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda termed the Maruti violence as "unfortunate". Hooda said the government had acted promptly and registered a case against 100 persons.

Sharma said an isolated incident would not impact inflow of investment to Haryana and cited various surveys to contend that India was among the top three most-favoured investment destinations.