Still recovering from a knee surgery, R C Bhargava hasn't lost the zeal with which he has guided Maruti Suzuki as its Chairman, but said the violence at
the company's Manesar plant has left him shattered.
"Personally, it is an experience that has left me shattered," Bhargava told reporters here referring to the violence on Wednesday in which a senior official of the company was burnt to death.
Expressing his disbelief over the incident, he said: "In my wildest dream, I never thought a day would come like this when our own workers would indulge in this kind of rioting and mob violence severely injuring almost 90 managers and supervisors and leading to the death of a senior colleague, something which I just would not believe and yet it has happened."
Bhargava, who joined Maruti Udyog in 1981 and became its second Managing Director in 1985 after V Krishnamurthy, regretted that the incident has dented the company's image.
"I have been with Maruti for over 30 years. We have built this company with everybody's co-operation from scratch and it has become a company with a name, not only in India but also in most parts of the world for its success," he said.
Bhargava held was appointed Chairman and Managing Director in 1990 and held the post till 1997. Later in 2007 he returned as the Chairman of the company.
MSI today declared a lockout at the violence-hit Manesar plant, stating it cannot risk life and safety of its employee.