The chief executive officer of a jute mill in West Bengal's Hooghly district was today beaten to death on factory premises allegedly by mill workers, as an angry Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed BJP and CPI(M) for it.
CEO of North Brook Jute Mill H K Maheswari was beaten up by workers of the factory at Bhadreswar when he rejected their demand for an increase in the weekly working hours to enable them to get paid more as payment is made according to hours of work, district SP Sunil Chowdhury said.
The workers met Maheswari at 11 AM in his chamber and demanded, besides other things, that the weekly working hours be increased to 40 from the present 25.
The CEO's refusal to meet the demands led to an altercation and the workers assaulted Maheswari, injuring him seriously. The CEO was taken to a private nursing home where he died, Chowdhury said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the killing and alleged that it was an act of "CPI(M) and BJP goons".
"According to information that I have got, (BMS) and CITU members brutally beat up Maheswari. I have talked to the local police about it," the Chief Minister said.
"It is very unfortunate. I heard that members of the unions of CPI(M) and BJP assembled at the jute mill with their demands and CEO H K Maheswari came out to hear them when he was beaten up mercilessly," Banerjee said in Kolkata pointing out that TMC did not have any union at that jute mill.
Banerjee alleged, "BJP leaders were unleashing terror through provocative speeches since they came to power at the Centre. Yesterday, CPI(M) and BJP goons had killed four TMC workers at Raidighi in South 24-Paganas district."
"We will never allow such things to happen. Strong action will be taken and the culprits must be punished. Nobody will be spared," the Chief Minister warned.
BJP and CPI(M) denied that they were in any way involved in the killing of Maheswari.
