Maruti riot pre-planned: eyewitness
24 July 2012 2:14 AM GMT
Days after the brutal murder of Awanish Kumar Dev, General Manager (HR) of Maruti Suzuki, an eyewitness approached the Gurgaon police on Monday. Rakesh Kumar, a contractor for Maruti, has given a statement against the workers who set Dev’s room on fire intentionally.
Kumar said around 4.30 pm, he went to the Manesar plant for his routine meeting with the upper management. When he reached the plant, he came to know that the workers and union leaders were upset as a supervisor had slapped a worker. A negotiation meeting was going on in this regard in the conference hall between the union leaders, workers and the management.
He added that midway in the meeting, a few workers came out of the conference hall and asked other workers to come up with the ‘materials’ (iron rods). Within a few minutes, 500 workers along with union leaders had entered the hall forcefully. ‘Seeing the fast reaction, it seems that it was planned and they were already prepared to attack the management,’ said Kumar in his statement.
Talking about the victim, Awanish Kumar Dev, Kumar said, ‘Awanish sir was always supportive to all the workers. Last year, when the workers demanded a union, he was the only one from the management who supported the demand. I really don’t understand the reason for targeting him.’
‘During the attack, the management hid below the tables and chairs and requested them to stop the violence. But none of them listened. Meanwhile, a group of workers went to the HR’s room and started beating him brutally with the iron rods. They then torched the Administration Block, Control Room, Vigilance Room and Fire Station,’ he added.
Workers also damaged the CCTV cameras present around them, to hide their identity.
‘The statement given by Kumar will definitely help us,’ said Maheshwar Dayal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), Gurgaon.
After the arrest of six persons whose names were mentioned by the upper management in their FIR, they were produced in the local court. Yogesh Kumar, the Organising Secretary of Maruti Suzuki’s workers union, was found to be the main accused. He was then sent to four-day remand with the Gurgaon Police.
The remaining five accused - Satbir, Sohan Lal, Pradeep, Naveen Kumar and Surender Pal - were sent to two-day remand.
Meanwhile, family of Pradeep, who is a native of Jind, claimed, ‘Pradeep was on leave since 14 July. How can he be a part of the deadly riot in Manesar Plant?’
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MAHAPANCHAYAT DEMANDS CBI PROBE
A mahapanchayat of more than 70 villages on Monday demanded a CBI probe into the violence at the Maruti-Suzuki factory in Manesar and said it supported the car company’s management.
The mahapanchayat also said the formation of a Special Investigative Team for the case was not enough.
Presiding over the meeting in Dhana village, Rao Abhay Singh, a former Zila Parishad chief, said the crisis at the plant could be due to a conspiracy to push out Maruti from Gurgaon.
The sarpanches and numbardars said they supported the Maruti Suzuki management. They said they would oppose any move by the trade union in the workers’ favour.
An executive committee of 28 members would be set up in a day or two, with two people each from Manesar, Kasan, Aliyar, Dhana, Khoh, Naharpur Nawada and Bans Kusla villages and one person each from 14 other villages. The committee would then cooperate with the Maruti management, if asked.
‘THERE WAS NO SECURITY INSIDE PLANT'
The wife of the senior executive killed in the attack inside Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant last week, on Monday, said had security been provided for officials the tragedy could have been averted.
‘Vigilance and intelligence officials [inside the plant] could not assess the threat perception. No security was provided to the officials at the facility,’ Suparna Prasad Dev said struggling to hold back her tears as people continue to pour into their residence to offer condolences.
Her husband, Awanish Kumar Dev, General Manager (HR) at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant was killed in the violence that broke out at the plant last week, following suspension of a worker, in which about 100 others were injured. While she is appreciative of the support from the company's management, Dev lamented that there was a failure in recognising the build-up of labour discontent. ‘People inside [the plant] were supposed to know. It was their duty. It was failure on their part as they should have known that such a level of anger was there,’ she said.
Looking at the photograph of her late husband, she said, ‘We want justice for him. Whosoever has done this to him should be brought to justice.’ She, however, said the family is satisfied with the actions taken up by Haryana government, which has formed a Special Investigation team (SIT) to probe the brutal murder.
An MBA from Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, Awanish (50) had joined Maruti Suzuki in June 2010. He is survived by his wife, and 16-year old son, Abhyudit. In a statement, Maruti Suzuki said, ‘We deeply condole the loss of Awanish. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the guilty are brought to book by the administration.’
TULSI APPOINTED AS SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
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The Haryana government on Monday said it has appointed eminent criminal lawyer KTS Tulsi as special prosecutor for trial of those involved in violence at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant on 18 July that claimed the life of one senior company executive. The decision was announced by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda after a meeting with the top management of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) and Gurgaon district officials here.
‘For that we have appointed a special prosecutor KTS Tulsi,’ Hooda told reporters when asked about steps taken up by the state government to bring to book the culprits. The company, meanwhile, said it has been assured of full support by the state government in the case, adding its internal inquiry into the incident will be merged with the police investigation. Gurgaon Police Commissioner K K Sindhu and Haryana DGP R S Dalal were also present in the meeting, which was attended by MSI Chairman R C Bhargava, Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi, Chief Operating Officer (Production) MM Singh and Chief Operating Officer (Administration) S Y Siddiqui. Bhargava said the priority at the moment is to find the reasons behind the violence.
‘The first priority is what was really behind what had happened last week... identify the issue. Problems have to be uprooted and eliminated from the state. The CM is determined, he won’t tolerate any such activities in the state,’ Bhargava added. He further said, ‘Today’s meeting was to chart out the approach and action to the incident that shocked the government, administration and the company.’
Kumar said around 4.30 pm, he went to the Manesar plant for his routine meeting with the upper management. When he reached the plant, he came to know that the workers and union leaders were upset as a supervisor had slapped a worker. A negotiation meeting was going on in this regard in the conference hall between the union leaders, workers and the management.
He added that midway in the meeting, a few workers came out of the conference hall and asked other workers to come up with the ‘materials’ (iron rods). Within a few minutes, 500 workers along with union leaders had entered the hall forcefully. ‘Seeing the fast reaction, it seems that it was planned and they were already prepared to attack the management,’ said Kumar in his statement.
Talking about the victim, Awanish Kumar Dev, Kumar said, ‘Awanish sir was always supportive to all the workers. Last year, when the workers demanded a union, he was the only one from the management who supported the demand. I really don’t understand the reason for targeting him.’
‘During the attack, the management hid below the tables and chairs and requested them to stop the violence. But none of them listened. Meanwhile, a group of workers went to the HR’s room and started beating him brutally with the iron rods. They then torched the Administration Block, Control Room, Vigilance Room and Fire Station,’ he added.
Workers also damaged the CCTV cameras present around them, to hide their identity.
‘The statement given by Kumar will definitely help us,’ said Maheshwar Dayal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), Gurgaon.
After the arrest of six persons whose names were mentioned by the upper management in their FIR, they were produced in the local court. Yogesh Kumar, the Organising Secretary of Maruti Suzuki’s workers union, was found to be the main accused. He was then sent to four-day remand with the Gurgaon Police.
The remaining five accused - Satbir, Sohan Lal, Pradeep, Naveen Kumar and Surender Pal - were sent to two-day remand.
Meanwhile, family of Pradeep, who is a native of Jind, claimed, ‘Pradeep was on leave since 14 July. How can he be a part of the deadly riot in Manesar Plant?’
Â
MAHAPANCHAYAT DEMANDS CBI PROBE
A mahapanchayat of more than 70 villages on Monday demanded a CBI probe into the violence at the Maruti-Suzuki factory in Manesar and said it supported the car company’s management.
The mahapanchayat also said the formation of a Special Investigative Team for the case was not enough.
Presiding over the meeting in Dhana village, Rao Abhay Singh, a former Zila Parishad chief, said the crisis at the plant could be due to a conspiracy to push out Maruti from Gurgaon.
The sarpanches and numbardars said they supported the Maruti Suzuki management. They said they would oppose any move by the trade union in the workers’ favour.
An executive committee of 28 members would be set up in a day or two, with two people each from Manesar, Kasan, Aliyar, Dhana, Khoh, Naharpur Nawada and Bans Kusla villages and one person each from 14 other villages. The committee would then cooperate with the Maruti management, if asked.
‘THERE WAS NO SECURITY INSIDE PLANT'
The wife of the senior executive killed in the attack inside Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant last week, on Monday, said had security been provided for officials the tragedy could have been averted.
‘Vigilance and intelligence officials [inside the plant] could not assess the threat perception. No security was provided to the officials at the facility,’ Suparna Prasad Dev said struggling to hold back her tears as people continue to pour into their residence to offer condolences.
Her husband, Awanish Kumar Dev, General Manager (HR) at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant was killed in the violence that broke out at the plant last week, following suspension of a worker, in which about 100 others were injured. While she is appreciative of the support from the company's management, Dev lamented that there was a failure in recognising the build-up of labour discontent. ‘People inside [the plant] were supposed to know. It was their duty. It was failure on their part as they should have known that such a level of anger was there,’ she said.
Looking at the photograph of her late husband, she said, ‘We want justice for him. Whosoever has done this to him should be brought to justice.’ She, however, said the family is satisfied with the actions taken up by Haryana government, which has formed a Special Investigation team (SIT) to probe the brutal murder.
An MBA from Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, Awanish (50) had joined Maruti Suzuki in June 2010. He is survived by his wife, and 16-year old son, Abhyudit. In a statement, Maruti Suzuki said, ‘We deeply condole the loss of Awanish. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the guilty are brought to book by the administration.’
TULSI APPOINTED AS SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
Â
The Haryana government on Monday said it has appointed eminent criminal lawyer KTS Tulsi as special prosecutor for trial of those involved in violence at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant on 18 July that claimed the life of one senior company executive. The decision was announced by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda after a meeting with the top management of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) and Gurgaon district officials here.
‘For that we have appointed a special prosecutor KTS Tulsi,’ Hooda told reporters when asked about steps taken up by the state government to bring to book the culprits. The company, meanwhile, said it has been assured of full support by the state government in the case, adding its internal inquiry into the incident will be merged with the police investigation. Gurgaon Police Commissioner K K Sindhu and Haryana DGP R S Dalal were also present in the meeting, which was attended by MSI Chairman R C Bhargava, Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi, Chief Operating Officer (Production) MM Singh and Chief Operating Officer (Administration) S Y Siddiqui. Bhargava said the priority at the moment is to find the reasons behind the violence.
‘The first priority is what was really behind what had happened last week... identify the issue. Problems have to be uprooted and eliminated from the state. The CM is determined, he won’t tolerate any such activities in the state,’ Bhargava added. He further said, ‘Today’s meeting was to chart out the approach and action to the incident that shocked the government, administration and the company.’
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