The People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a civil rights organisation, has alleged “extensive torture” of Maruti workers by the Haryana Police.
On July 18, apart from damage to offices on account of fire, the violence had claimed the life of a senior human resources official and left 96 others injured.
In a statement issued after an investigation into the violence at the carmaker’s Manesar factory on July 18, the PUDR alleged there was “miscarriage of justice” in the form of “arbitrary arrests of workers, illegal detention and harassment of their family members, as well as custodial violence.”
It added that the defence counsel had applied for a proper medical examination much earlier, and the same was permitted by the court. But, PUDR alleged that the police caused significant and deliberate delay even after court permission was granted, causing marks and evidence of torture to be reduced.
The police have arrested 145 workers so far, while over 540 permanent workers have been fired by Maruti in August citing involvement in the clash. PUDR said the dismissals were wrong, as it was done even before the investigation report was released. It alleged that the arrests were made on the basis of a list provided by the company.
The body has demanded an independent judicial enquiry into the events that led to the death of company official Awanish Dev where the judge nominated is agreeable to both parties. It added that the Special Investigation Team be drawn from the police in other states (apart from Haryana, Delhi and Punjab).
General Secretary of the Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (Gurgaon plant) Kuldeep Janghu confirmed that family members of Maruti’s Manesar workers were harassed after a large section of the workers went into hiding in July-August.
“We have heard of many being tortured at the hands of the police, though there is no proof to really confirm that,” he said.
Attempts to contact the Haryana police failed.