Maruti says attack was planned, police take 99 into custody

The Haryana government on Thursday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the violent labour unrest at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant, in which a senior HRD official of the company died and property worth crores of rupees were damaged.

Chief Secretary P K Chaudhery said police have picked up 99 people, while FIRs have been registered against 55 identified men and some "unknown" persons.

DGP Ranjeev Singh Dalal said police have taken over the plant. "We are going to take stern action against the guilty. Workers can protest in a peaceful manner, but resorting to violence is not acceptable," he said.

Maruti Suzuki officials said the attack was planned. Virendra Prasad, a company official who suffered head injuries, said: "It all started with a worker punching a supervisor. Following this, the management decided to suspend the worker, but the union was adamant that the worker be taken back."

"They assaulted the managers on their head, legs and back. Many of us were bleeding profusely and some were unconscious. They ransacked offices, broke glass panes and damaged property. Finally, they set the office on fire," he said.

The management said it was yet to assess the damage to property at the plant, which was locked down on Thursday for an unspecified period. "We will shortly announce our decision on resuming operations. We request our customers and partners to bear with us," it said.

Describing the incident as tragic and unfortunate, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda denied reports that a political party was involved in instigating the workers.

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