KAKINADA: A court on Wednesday convicted 49 employee union leaders of Regency Ceramics Limited, Yanam, and acquitted 35 in the case related to the violence that broke out in the unit in 2012 following a strike.
In one of the worst cases of industrial violence, the death of a trade union leader, M Murali Mohan, at the hands of police, led to an outbreak of unrest which ended in the killing of a top official of the ceramic company and widespread arson and damage to property.
Trouble began in January 2012 when the employees started staging protests demanding regularisation of services of senior employees and other facilities. As protests intensified, police had to intervene and, in the following action, the trade union leader, Murali Mohan, suffered severe injuries in the lathi charge and died later.
Enraged over this, the workers barged into the residence of one of the senior officials of the company, KC Chandrasekhar, and attacked him leading to his death. The workers went on a rampage setting fire to the assets of the company, including dozens of buses, two-wheelers and other properties.
Police had to open fire leading to injuries to dozens of workers. Several cases of arson, murder, attempt to murder were registered against the union leaders and, in two of the cases which have been under trial since then, the court gave its judgement on Wednesday. The court while acquitting 35 of them, convicted 49 leaders including CITU East Godavari district president Seshu Babji and others. Meanwhile, the court granted bail to the convicted union leaders in the two cases in which the judgement was given.