CPM demands judicial inquiry in firing incident in HP

Shimla, Jul 1 (UNI) The CPM today demanded a judicial inquiry into the firing incident yesterday in an industrial unit at Shogi, near here, in Himachal Pradesh in which one person was killed and five others injured.

CPM stands for a judicial inquiry, headed by a retired High Court judge, into the yesterday's firing incident at Supermax industries at Shogi, party's state secretary Rakesh Singha said in a release here.

He said the head injuries suffered by five people revealed that the firing was intended to kill them, besides creating terror amongst the workers after killing the leaders of the union who were demanding an increase in their wages following the state's government notification to increase the wages from January 1, this year.

Alleging that police was in league with the unit's management to end unionism in the factory, Mr Singh said the suspension of nine union leaders by the factory management was a proof of their evil designs.

He also demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation for the kin of the worker who died in the firing incident and Rs five lakh each to the injured workers.

Mr Singha alleged that the five security men, who had resorted to unprovoked firing on peacefully agitating workers of the factory, used to threaten the workers within the factory premises for demanding implementation of the labour laws.

Referring to the death of five union leaders in three different hydel projects of the state during the last few years, he said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal should convene an all- party meeting to find a permanent solution to the problems of the workers in the Supermax and other industries and hydel projects.

The CPM leader also lamented at the 'sorry state of affairs' in the industrial units, saying the security guards in these units were basically ''shooters'' employed under the garb of personal security guards.

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