Birla Workers Demand Arrests

Hundreds of workers of Birla Tyres have agitated before the Balasore collectorate, demanding the immediate arrest of the company’s top three executives. The workers, led by Birla Tyres Workers Union (BTWU) president Rajendra Bal, submitted separate memoranda to the District Collector and the SP with a demand to arrest the company’s senior president Deepak Tandon, general manager (personnel) Anil Upadhyay and another senior executive SR Roy in seven days.

The workers alleged that the three executives had attacked union’s general secretary Deepankar Bardhan and his colleague on Saturday. “When Bardhan refused to endorse the ‘No work no pay’ policy from February 16 to 28, when the company would remain closed during the period, due to the global meltdown, the three executives beat him up and Hari Mohan Das,” claimed Rajendra Bal. An injured Bardhan, who had been admitted to the district headquarters hospital, was later discharged. Police are investigating the incident.