Sensing possible trouble that may erupt due to the District Court's verdict on the 2012 Maruti Violence case on Friday, Gurugram will be turned into a fortress from March 10 (Friday) with Section 144 imposed at certain places of the city.
To ensure that there is no violence after the verdict, the Gurugram district administration has imposed Section 144 around the areas of Maruti Udyog factory in Manesar and District Courts from March 10 to March 15.
There will also be a heavy deployment of security officials at Bhondsi Jail and at Kamala Nehru Park where it is expected that worker unions may come in large numbers to register their protest.
"The Gurugram Police understands that emotions may flare up after the verdict is announced. We therefore are not taking any chances. The Gurugram Police have deployed large number of cops to take care of law and order in the city. Special emphasis has been given to the two factories of Maruti Udyog at Manesar and Sector-18 along with the District Court. If required, an additional set of police personnel will also be added to deal with any untoward situation," said ACP Manish Sehegal, spokesperson, Gurugram Police.
The judgement to the five-year-old case will be delivered by Judge R P Goel. The judgement is expected to be crucial for both the workers as well as the management staff working at Maruti Udyog.
The incident of deadly violence which occurred on July 18, 2012 resulted in several workers causing a rampage at the Maruti Udyog factory situated in IMT Manesar.
Besides causing severe damages to the production units and injuring certain members of the managerial staff, Awanish Kumar Dev, who was the General Manager (Human Resources) was burnt alive by the workers. This incident later resulted in more than 500 workers being terminated from their jobs by the management.
There were 147 workers who were detained by the Gurugram Police out of which 145 were under stringent sections of causing riots, attempt to murder and murder.
While most of the workers since then have been let out on bail, there are still 11 workers who are lodged in Bhondsi Jail.
The six unions of Maruti workers associations have threatened mass agitation if the court's verdict is not in the favour of the accused workers.
"The unions will be one towards the welfare of the workers. We trust that justice will be delivered to the workers who have been wrongly charged. If not, the struggle for justice will continue against the Maruti Udyog management and the state government," said Kuldeep Janghu, general secretary of Maruti Udyog Kamgaar Union.