Maruti Suzuki, which will take a decision on reopening of itsManesar plant on Monday, will operate the violence-hit facility under policeprotection on resumption of production with the Haryana government not willingto take a chance.
The state administration feels the necessity to position a complete battalionat the plant due to "security threat", according to a senior HaryanaPolice official.
"It has been decided by the government that one full battalion will bethere at the Manesar plant to provide security and it will be under an SSP rankofficer," Joint Commissioner of Police Anil Kumar told PTI.
The battalion will be under the command of Senior Superintendent of PoliceYogender Nehra, he added.
When asked how long the police would guard the Maruti plant after resumption ofoperations, Kumar said: "The presence of the 500-600 police personnel willcontinue to be there till the next decision is taken after reopening theplant".
Citing reasons for the extended protection, he said: "Though we have beengiving full security and the plant is completely safe, some people are stillapprehensive of a security threat".
After the violence on July 18, the Manesar plant is currently being guarded bythe Haryana Police.
Following the violence and arson, in which one senior executive was killed andnearly 100 others injured, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) had on July 21 announcedan indefinite lockout at the unit.
MSI Chief Operating Officer (Administration) S Y Siddiqui said the company willdiscuss the technical feasibility report on the possible date to reopen theManesar plant on Monday.
"Along with feasibility report, we will also get a report from the statepolice regarding the safety and security of the plant. We will take a decisionto reopen the plant after considering all the aspects," he added.
Although he did not share any details, it is understood that MSI will take acall on the employment of workers, who have been identified as being involvedin the violence and arson.
Earlier, MSI had said it was considering to deploy advanced safety measures forits employees at the plant.
The company had said it was exploring the best safety measures in terms ofequipment, personnel and on-ground training for its employees.
The Haryana government had set up a special investigation team, headed byAssistant Commissioner of Police Ravinder Tomar, to probe the incident.
On August 1, the police had arrested 10 office bearers of the Maruti SuzukiWorkers' Union, including its President Ram Meher and General SecretarySarabjit Singh, taking the total number of worker-arrests to 114 in relation tothe incident.
The state government had appointed eminent criminal advocate KTS Tulsi asspecial public prosecutor for the case.