Maruti Suzuki workers demand bail for 147 colleagues

Maruti Suzuki workers today demanded immediate bail for their 147 colleagues who are in jail in connection with the alleged murder of a man during last year's violence in the car manufacturer's Manesar plant.

Terminated workers and families of the jailed workers of the Maruti-Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) Manesar plant organised a public hearing at Jantar Mantar here. They narrated their agonies before the jury of Prabhat Patnaik, D R Chaudhry, former chairman HPSC, and Supreme Court advocates Kirti Singh, Colin Gonsalves and R S Hooda.

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CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, TDP leader N Nageshwar Rao and other trade union leaders also expressed their solidarity with the jailed and terminated MSIL workers and their families.

Later, a delegation led by MP Basudeb Acharia met NHRC Chairperson Justice (retd) K G Balakrishnan who assured them that it would take necessary action.

The jury said 147 workers were being charged for murder of one person, which defies all credibility and no proper probe was conducted. Terming denial of bail to the workers, the jury members said those who have been arrested have been kept in jail for more than one year in gross violation of human rights.

"Even those who have shown any sympathy with the workers have been subjected to brutal treatment by police on several occasions. And no help, medical of otherwise, were provided to the affected families even in cases where they were entitled to such help," the jury said.

They claimed the entire conflict arose because the workers wanted to form a union of their own. The other demands of the workers included impartial and high level judicial inquiry to probe July 18, 2012 incident. The workers also demanded ensuring workers right of forming and joining a trade union of their own choice and stop police intervention.