A labour dispute between workers from a printing press in Nagpur, central India, and their employer ended in the fatal shooting of a former security guard, underlining the labor problems in the country.
Nagpur police said they have charged Prakash Pohare, editor-in-chief and owner of Marathi newspaper Deshonnati, and his bodyguard, Harikrishna Triwedi, for the murder of Rajendra Dupare, The Hindu reports.
According to reports, Pohare sacked the employees following his decision to shut down the press and outsource printing. An altercation broke out when the workers protested against Pohare’s move. “Mr. Pohare asked some of the workers present at the unit to leave and told them that their final dues have been sent to their home. He asked his bodyguards to push the workers out of the unit and a scuffle ensued,” PRO of the Nagpur Rural Police Vijay Pande told The Hindu.
The workers claimed that Pohare shot Dupare himself by snatching the gun from Triwedi. Contradicting reports from the police said that Triwedi was the one who pulled the trigger as ordered by Pohare. Dupare was brought to the Government Medical College and Hospital but immediately died, The Times of India reports.
Triwedi was captured by the police after the workers surrounded and beat him. Pohare managed to flee the scene.
