Dunlop India Employees Bribed to Seize Factory Land

All operations at the Dunlop India facility in Ambattur, Chennai have been suspended after real estate company VGN Enterprises reportedly used force to take possession of a section of the factory land on July 30. The tyremaker notified the Bombay Stock Exchange on August 7 that it has taken this decision following the recent activities, and in a press release claimed VGN’s “illegal” act made it impossible to carry out normal manufacturing activities.

It appears that after VGN Enterprises demolished part of the factory compound wall it drew upon the assistance of some of the plant’s workforce and occupied an eight acre piece of ground, erecting its own boundary walls around this land. VGN Enterprises allegedly paid Dunlop India workers Rs 15,000 (£180) each for their complicity in the land grab.

The real estate company maintains it is the rightful owner of the land seized on July 30 and that the eight acres are part of the 60.84 acres it bought in June 2004 from Dunlop India’s previous owners, the Chhabrias. VGN has reportedly indicated its willingness to swap the contentious eight acres for an equivalent section of land within the premises, however this offer was rejected by Dunlop India management. Evidence suggests that the Chhabrias did not seek permission for the 2004 land sale.