2 hurt in clash between fmr workers, management of Modi cloth mill

The management and former workers of Modi cloth mill clashed with each other on Wednesday following reports that machines kept inside the manufacturing units were being sold secretly.

The groups pelted stones at each other and shots were fired in the air. In the ensuing chaos, two former workers were injured and a part of the Meerut highway was blocked for hours.

The mill was permanently shut down in 1994 rendering more than two thousand workers unemployed.

The workers are demanding that their pending salaries be paid by the management and are contesting cases in the courts.

Teh crowd of former workers was led by local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Asrey Sharma.

"I along with two dozen workers reached the cloth mill today morning at around 11 am... The goons hired by the management pelted bricks at us and fired shots in the air due to which two persons sustained injuries," Sharma alleged.

The management is selling the machines in scrap secretly and not willing to clear our dues, he added.

Upon getting information about the clash, the police reached the spot and tried to pacify the crowd.

Five persons from the management were arrested and an FIR was registered, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said.

A case will also be registered against the unruly mob for blocking the highway, he added.