A day after police booked several unidentified suspects for attacking personnel, damaging property, and indulging in arson and vandalism at IMT Manesar during protests over wage demands, at least 55 persons were arrested in all, according to officers aware of the developments.
While 11 male workers were held for allegedly attacking police, torching a police vehicle and damaging four more at two garment manufacturing and export factories on Thursday morning, 44 persons were arrested for vandalism at one of the four factories, after they were identified through analysis of CCTV camera footage, they said.
Deputy commissioner of police (Manesar) Prabina P said, “The charges against the 11 are of serious nature, including attempt to murder, and are non-bailable as per law. The 44 others, including 20 women, who have been arrested in the second case for vandalism at one of the four factories on which they had pelted stones and ransacked the premises after barging inside when the protests turned violent.”
The 11 suspects arrested on attempt to murder charges for stone-pelting have lodged in 14-day judicial custody after being produced in court on Friday. Meanwhile, the court agreed to hear the bail pleas of the 35 other accused on Monday, until which they will also be lodged in judicial custody.
Police said the 44 workers, including 20 women arrested for vandalism and rioting, were given the option to secure bail at the police station level by bringing in guarantors, but they could not as none of their family members lived in Haryana.
On Thursday, protests over wage demands turned violent, following which the police filed two FIRs—one on the complaint of management of the Richa Global Exports Private Limited in which police personnel were injured and a second on the complaint of the management of the Modelama Exports Private Limited, which suffered damages due to vandalism.
Prabina said that the arrests were made on the basis of the CCTV footage from the factory entrance and premises, along with the videos recorded by police personnel on their phones.
Police said that as of Thursday night, 12 personnel sustained injuries ranging from bruising to deep cuts in stone-pelting by protesters. All of them were treated at the Sector 10 Civil Hospital.
Assistant commissioner of police (Manesar) Virender Saini said that eight personnel were reportedly injured as of Thursday afternoon, but the injury count increased by late evening. “However, after law and order situation was brought under control, four more injured police personnel were taken to the hospital for treatment,” he said.
Saini said that the factories where protests broke out on Thursday had normalised, but police continue to remain on the ground. “Armed police personnel are still deployed at the factory entrances in large count round-the-clock across the area to thwart any attempt of violence by workers,” he said.
Many factories, however, said that only 30% to 50% of the workforce reported to work on Friday.
A general manager of a garment manufacturing and export firm, requesting anonymity, said that their production suffered due to the protests. “We expect to reach our 100% production capacity by Monday. Workers avoided duty, fearing backlash. Most of the factory managements have already made official announcements on wage hikes,” the general manager said.
An official at another factory, where workers protested, albeit non-violently, said they have issued circular to update workers about their wage hike. “We have assured them of not taking any adverse action while urging them to return to work. Some of the workers avoided duty on Friday but we expect everything to normalise within a day or two,” the official said, preferring not to be named.
Jai Bhagwan, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), Haryana state committee, said they were extending legal support to the arrested workers. “They didn’t have a union association and got confused. They protested on their own after the Centre announced wage hike from April 1. They didn’t have knowledge that the state government will also have to issue notification. Haryana government had made the wage hike announcement in March budget, but issued the notification belatedly, only after protest,” he said.