Maruti Suzuki case: Kin of convicted still shocked by verdict

The families of those convicted in the 2012 Maruti Manesar plant violence case said it would be difficult for them to cope with the situation as most of those convicted are young and in several cases, the sole bread-winners.

Parents and relatives of those convicted of violence at Maruti’s Manesar plant in 2012 are still shocked by the court verdict on March 10. Most of them do not even know under what sections their sons and brothers have been found guilty.

Family members of those convicted in the 2012 Maruti plant violence case at the district court in Gurgaon on Friday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The families said it would be difficult for them to cope with the situation as most of those convicted are young and in several cases, the sole bread-winners.

Krishan Kumar, who has a disability in one leg, has a young daughter and was married only a year when he was arrested in the Manesar violence case. “The family is disturbed and his wife and daughter are inconsolable. He is not capable of doing any crime, he walks with such difficulty,” Ashok Kumar, Krishan’s father-in-law, who came to the court for hearing the sentence on Friday, said. The family, which is from Khanda Kheri village in Hissar, was numbed when it came to know about Krishan’s arrest on March 10 after he was convicted by the court.

Deepak Singh, who had come from HIssar to know the fate of his friend, Jagdish, said he was distraught at the news of his conviction as everyone in the village expected him to be acquitted. “This is a fabricated case; the government wants to set an example, and, unfortunately, these workers have become scapegoats. They neither have money nor resources to fight the system,” he said.

The families of the convicts, however, hope for some relief on Saturday when the sentence is delivered. They also said they will move the high court against the verdict.