George Alexander Muthoot has been admitted to a private hospital, the police said.
Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: The Managing Director of Muthoot Finance company was injured after miscreants allegedly threw stones at his car today morning. George Alexander Muthoot suffered a head injury and was taken to a private hospital, the police said.
A group of employees have been protesting against the Muthoot management over dismissal of 160 people from the company's 43 branches across the state in December.
While the Muthoot management alleged that "Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) goons" were behind the attack that happened at around 9 am, the union leaders have maintained that they have no role in the incident.
Reacting to the incident, Labour Minister TP Ramakrishnan said he does believe Muthoot employees were behind the attack.
"The employees were protesting peacefully. Violence is not part of their protest. I don't think any of the Muthoot employees attacked the MD. However, it was the management of the company which had always provoked them by not implementing the decisions taken at conciliatory meetings," the Minister said.
CITU leader Ananthavattom Anandan told reporters that they do not believe in violent protests. An
Well-known businessman and CEO of V-Guard Industries, Kochouseph Chittilappilly, condemned the attack and said it was unfortunate that such incidents still continue in the state.
"Earlier also such incidents have taken palace. It's highly condemnable. The union leaders will now claim that the incident took place without their knowledge. But without the backing of union, such incidents will never happen", he said.
Kerala-headquartered Muthoot Finance is the largest gold financing company in India.