Employees safety yet to be assured, lockout to continue:Maruti

Even 12 days after the violence and arson at the Manesar Plant, the culprits continue to be at large

With main culprits of the July 18 violence at Manesar plant yet to be arrested, Maruti Suzuki today said it remains concerned over the safety of its employees.

"Twelve days after the violence and arson at the Manesar Plant, the culprits continue to be at large. Concerned about the safety and security of its people, the company is not in a position to take a decision on resuming operations at the Manesar plant," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

The company will announce its decision to reopen the plant only when it is assured of employee safety, it added.

Talking about the injured, MSI said: "The injured employees are receiving medical attention. It will take them a while to recover from injuries sustained during the violence.

Following the violence, in which killed one senior executive was killed and 100 others were injured, the company had declared an indefinite lockout at the Manesar plant on July 21 saying the safety and welfare of the employees were paramount. Work at Gurgaon plant continues to be normal.

The company had last week said it formed a 25-member team, drawn from its various departments, to take care of the injured employees.

The Haryana government had announced a special investigation team (SIT), headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Ravinder Tomar, to probe the incident. The police have so far arrested nearly 100 workers.

The Haryana government has appointed eminent criminal lawyer KTS Tulsi as special public prosecutor for the trial of the accused in violence.

Meanwhile, the company has run out of stock for two of its best selling models, Swift and DZire, that are produced at Manesar. However, the company has not stopped the bookings and the order backlog has crossed 1.2 lakh.

Severely impacted by MSI's lockout, component suppliers have also cut down their production drastically and may even layoff contract labourers to keep expenditures under control.