CHENNAI: The Kancheepuram district police came down heavily on the protesting Samsung workers since midnight Tuesday, days after the government’s attempt to persuade CITU to give up the protests failed.
The police arrested 10 persons from their houses in Sunguvarchatram on Tuesday midnight, and later on Wednesday, detained 616 others who continued to protest even after police dismantled the temporary shed from where they had been protesting for the last month.
While eight persons were let off after the judicial magistrate refused to remand them, two others have been remanded in judicial custody, according to union members.
Kancheepuram district secretary of CITU, E Muthukumar, told TNIE the protests will continue from Thursday at usual site near the Samsung plant with the court giving the nod for peaceful protests on Wednesday.
According to CITU members, the Kancheepuram police went to the houses of 10 Samsung workers, who were also office-bearers of the union, at midnight to arrest them. They allegedly refused to brief the family members on the charges against them. The police then proceeded to dismantle the temporary shed on a vacant private land they were protesting from.
Police sources said the arrests were in connection with workers allegedly shoving an SSI, who came to the spot, after a load van in which a group of protesting Samsung workers were travelling in, fell sideways when the driver lost control of the overloaded vehicle.
“The workers did not push the SSI or anyone else. The entire incident has been staged in order to keep the workers and us from protesting any further,” Muthukumar told TNIE.
“We have been constantly in touch with the owner of the land where the protest is happening and he has no complaints with the protest continuing. This is not an illegal protest. We have done everything by the book, including issuing a strike notice to Samsung,” he added.
Union members also said the police began the crackdown on workers from Tuesday when they began checking private vehicles, including buses, for those wearing the Samsung uniform to ask them their names, identity cards and details of where they were heading to.
Despite this, workers began arriving at the protest site on Wednesday morning and continued the agitation even as it rained heavily until 616 protesting workers and union members, including CITU state president A Soundararajan, were detained. They were let off later in the day.
Speaking to media, Soundararajan alleged that the state government has been a mute spectator to the police excess.
“The workers have been threatened by the police. We are ready to withdraw the protests if they show even an iota of violation from our side. The management (Samsung) is denying workers their legal rights and the state government is in support,” Soundararajan said.
On Wednesday, the protest turned a month old. After the protests began on September 9, seven conciliatory discussions were held, including one on Monday where ministers TRB Rajaa, TM Anbarasan and CV Ganesan held separate discussions with Samsung, CITU members and workers. All conciliatory talks, so far, have failed.
The Samsung India Thozhilalar Sangam had moved the HC seeking a direction to the state labour department register the union on September 30, as the department had failed to do so even after the mandated 45 days. The application for registration was made in July.
