Members of NCP-led workers union attack Congress backers

The offenders ransacked the union's office in which two members of the Congress-led INTUC got severely injured.

INTUC representatives had gathered at the premises for a meeting with PMPML officials regarding the bonus issue and the subject of assigning light duties to senior employees. Following the meeting, the workers were discussing the developments in the office.

Violent protest: The vandalised INTUC office; (inset) u00a0INTUC member Santosh Shilimkar was injured

Suddenly, about 30 to 40 members of NCP's PMPML workers union arrived there with hockey sticks, bats and sharp weapons. They allegedly started to vandalise the office.

"They were opposing the policy of assigning lesser responsibilities to senior employees of PMPML. Actually senior officials, including the CMD, had agreed with our proposal and have given written approval. A few days ago, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had refused to provide bonus for Diwali. They (the miscreants) attacked our office in protest. They also took away Rs 40,000 in cash," said Pramod Shelar, chairman of INTUC.

Following the attack, all the workers stopped work for an hour, and traffic at Jedhe Chowk was disturbed. Police reached the spot and detained 10 protesters. Cops said that they convinced the workers union to start work to avoid congestion. u00a0

INTUC threatens strike
Meanwhile, INTUC has demanded strict action against the miscreants, threatening to strike work on Wednesday otherwise. "We don't want to create inconvenience for commuters. But eight thousand members of our union will not work if police don't take any strict action. Our members got injured very badly and have been admitted to Sassoon hospital," claimed Shelar.u00a0