Bengal Mill CEO Killed by Workers, Mamata Banerjee Blames Opposition

Kolkata: An angry mob of workers wielding iron rods and stones beat the CEO of a Bengal jute factory to death in a dispute over increasing their working hours.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the violence on unions run by opposition parties. The opposition denied any role in the attack, and said an independent investigation should be held before any blame is hurled.

Six suspects have been arrested and are expected to be charged with murder, vandalism and other crimes allegedly committed when the mob of about 200 workers stormed the office of 60-year-old HK Maheswari on Sunday.

Mr Maheswari had denied their earlier request to work and be paid for 40 hours a week at the North Brook Jute Mill, instead of the current norm of 25. He had also proposed shutting down the mill for three days a week to limit mounting financial losses, according to the factory's general manager, Kiranjit Singh. The mill was grappling with a strange problem -producing more jute bags and jute cloth than it could sell - leading Mr Maheshwari to call for fewer working hours.

"The mill workers suddenly resorted to stone pelting while we were busy in a meeting," Kiranjit Singh said. At one point during Sunday's meeting, Mr Maheswari looked out the window at the growing crowd and was struck in the head by two stones. He collapsed, at which point a large group of workers stormed the office, Mr Singh said.

Both the general manager and a security guard were hospitalised for injuries and later released, while Mr Maheswari died on the way to a hospital, police said.

On Monday, Ms Banerjee sought to reassure the business community that her government did not tolerate union violence.

"There is no place for violence in a democracy," she said, while also telling members of the state assembly that a regular police investigation would suffice.