Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), India’s largest car maker, is planning to dismiss the workers of its first shift, A-shift, who are alleged to have participated in the violent riot that took place at company’s Manesar manufacturing facility. The haphazard, which dented the reputation of MSIL, took place on July 18, 2012 and left the company with a death of 51-year-old HR manager, Awanish Kumar and left 96 other employees wounded, accompanying with loss of millions.
With the help of few prime witnesses, the auto maker is looking ahead to recognise the main plotters of the fateful day and put them behind the bars. The Chief Operating Officer (Administration) of MSIL, SY Siddiqui quoted, “We are in the process of identifying the perpetrators with active assistance from our managers. There is no scope to retain any of the workers involved in the assault and violence at Manesar. We want to create a strong deterrent with a clear message to miscreants that the guilty have no chance as we restart production.”
Reportedly, it is difficult to identify the number of culprits in A-Shift who played a role in the incident as most of the workers were camouflaged, which did not revealed their identity. As per the sources, around 500 workers from the permanent staff, including trainees handed over their day’s work by almost 3 pm, but waited in the factory premises to hear about the results of union-management meeting.
Thereafter, the workers of second shift, B-shift, started their operations at 3 pm and were busy in manufacturing models till 7 pm. The statement clearly indicates that most of the workers were executing their jobs at the time riot started in the factory. According to police suspicions, there was involvement of a magnitude of the A-shift employees in the mishap.
It is believed that the main culprits of the whole scene are Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union General Secretary Sarabjeet Singh and the President Ram Meher Singh, who are still absconding.
A Police Officer of SIT commented, “There is no doubt that violence at the Manesar plant appears to be largely the work of morning shift workers. Most of the workers arrested are from Haryana with a sizeable number from neighbouring areas of Sonepat, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurgaon.” However, the police commissioner of Gurgaon Police, KK Sidhu, turned down to comment on the scene.
