Maruti Suzuki is blaming “gruesome mob violence” for Wednesday’s (18 July) brutal arson attack that left one staff member dead and 40 still remaining in hospital with serious injuries.
The company’s HR general manager, Awanish Kumar Dev, was burned to death as large swathes of Maruti’s Manesar plant were destroyed by fire as a rampaging gang swept through the factory.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“It is extremely shocking for us,” a Maruti spokesman in Delhi told just-auto. “The body was discovered after the police took over the place – it was in a burned condition and beyond recognition. It took the police and family a while to connect the body and the missing person.
“There were around 90 injured [with] 40 this morning still in hospital [Gurgaon ]- some in intensive care. No production is happening – no decisions have been taken about transferring production to other sites – of course we want to start production quickly.”
The injured include two Japanese expatriates, one of whom is the plant manager of the Manesar site.
The spokesman added the principal gate at the Manesar plant had also been burnt down, but it appears the main assembly line remains relatively intact, albeit with some damage.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataAny date for production restart has yet to be determined while the Indian police continue their investigations, which have so far resulted in the arrest of around 90 people out of a workforce of 3,000.
Manesar has endured a significant period of industrial unrest during the recent past, but this is by far the worst violence to afflict the site, which yet again has seen thousands of workers sent home, although whether or not they are being paid is a moot point.
“I don’t think being paid…[it] has not been assessed,” said the Maruti spokesman. “That is not the focus right now – the priority is give medical aid to those who have been injured and to help psychological trauma.
It seems those bent on arson were targeting the management side of the Maruti plant with fire sweeping through the administration section of the factory, where offices controlling operations were housed and which have now been burned beyond repair as has ironically, the fire safety area.
According to Maruti, the violence started when a union demanded reinstatement of a worker who had been suspended for beating up a supervisor.
The situation rapidly turned ugly when, using iron rods and car door beams, what the company says was a “mob” spread out and targeted supervisors, managers and executives in simultaneous attacks.
“The mob beat the managers on their heads, legs and back, rendering many of their victims bleeding and unconscious,” said a Maruti statement sent to just-auto. “They also ransacked offices, broke glass panes and wantonly damaged property. Finally, they set the offices on fire.
“By any account, this is not an ‘industrial relations’ problem in the nature of management-worker differences over issues of wages or working conditions. Rather, it is an orchestrated act of mob violence at a time when operations had been normal over the past many months.
“Such acts of violence – pre planned, unprovoked and gruesome – have implications beyond one company or region. They are [a] negative trigger for existing companies and regions across the country, as also for prospective investors and job seekers.
The All India Trade Union Congress was not immediately available for comment.
