Protest against death of ex-ICF apprentice

 

Several Tamil groups arrived at the mortuary in the morning, all dressed in black, and shouted slogans against the factory, 

accusing the factory management of abetting Hemant’s suicide. Hemant had been taking part in the 71st day of a protest organised against the factory for not hiring them after their training period. The 32-year old set himself on fire in front of the general manager’s office and died later in the day at KMC. 

 

While initially only his colleagues protested on Thursday, other groups also joined them the next day. Hemant’s wife Nanda Singh who was also present at the venue refused to sign the papers to release the body, demanding that due compensation be paid and action be taken against the factory.

 

Police arrived in big numbers to stand guard. However after Hemant’s wife and other witnesses were persuaded to sign the papers, police slowly started to take the protestors into custody, one by one.

 

When the crowd realized this, many fled the venue and the body was shifted in an ambulance from KMC. The protestors were housed in a community hall and released in the evening.