Police have claimed that Srikanth allegedly planned the protest and instigated the workers.
Kolar police arrested the Taluk chairman of the Indian Student Federation, an association affiliated with the Communist Party of India, on Thursday in connection with the vandalism that took place at Wistron’s iPhone factory in Kolar on 12 December.
The Kolar Rural Police, investigating the case, detained Srikanth on Wednesday. After being questioned, he was arrested Thursday morning. The Kolar Rural Police said the employees, who were not paid their outstanding wages or overtime pay, had allegedly approached Srikanth a few weeks ago for help organizing a protest.
On December 12, Wistron and SFI employees had planned to hold a protest in front of Kolar Collector Sathyabhama’s office at 11 am. Police said Srikanth allegedly curated the WhatsApp message, calling for the protest, which was widely circulated among employees.
The Kolar Rural Police said that Srikanth and several SFI activists allegedly entered the Wistron facility on the morning of December 12 and alleged that they too were part of the vandalism that occurred.
“Srikanth was arrested for instigating the violence and also for bringing people outside the company employees to the plant that was vandalized,” police said.
Wistron employees on the night shift had gone to meet with Human Resources Department staff with a letter demanding that the company pay outstanding dues and money for overtime work. Employees TNM spoke to previously had said they were locked out. They also said that December 12 was not the first time they had approached Wistron management with their complaints and that anger among thousands of employees was simmering for the past six months. Kolar Police have so far arrested 132 people, including SFI employees and activists.
Read also: Violence at Wistron iPhone plant: workers say months of pent-up anger behind blast
An FIR was registered against 7,000 unidentified persons, including 5,000 workers hired at the Kolar Rural Police Station on December 12, for vandalism, breaking of the criminal order, riots and assault.
Read also: Wistron’s violence losses were drastically reduced from Rs 437 cr to Rs 52 cr. This is why
