ANL lynching: company official fired 2 shots first

The Ghaziabad Police, investigating last Saturday’s lynching of a top official at Allied Nippon Limited (ANL), have found that the workers went on a rampage after a company official had opened fire.

The Ghaziabad Police, investigating last Saturday’s lynching of a top official at Allied Nippon Limited (ANL), have found that the workers went on a rampage after a company official had opened fire.

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Speaking to reporters, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raghubir Lal said Raj Kumar, a manager in ANL’s HR department, had fired two shots to scare away the workers.

"During our investigations, we found that Kumar fired one shot inside the ANL premises and the other outside to scare away the agitating workers. This angered the workers who later critically injured the company’s assistant general manager Yogender Chaudhary," Lal said.

"Kumar’s arms license and weapon have been confiscated for the duration of the investigation. Further course of action will be decided later," Lal added.

Chaudhary, 42, suffered critical injuries after workers beat him a few hundred meters outside the ANL premises on November 13. Chaudhary later succumbed to his injuries.

The SSP said investigations have revealed that the mob had some specific officials as their target.“We are trying to find out why these top officials were targeted,” SSP said.

Previously, ANL vice-president HR, MS Chaudhary, at a press briefing on November 14 had stated that the workers’ attack was "premeditated" and "unprovoked".

HR manager Raj Kumar had also stated at the press briefing that he had fired some shots outside the ANL premise from his licensed pistol to scare away the mob.

Police are hunting for the others accused in the case. Eight workers were arrested after the company officials lodged an FIR against 27 named and 350 unidentified people for rioting and murder.