CHENNAI: CPM state secretary P Shanmugam on Friday alleged that in the absence of an elected State government during the ongoing election process, the Kancheepuram police were repeatedly arresting CITU state deputy general secretary E Muthukumar, citing pending cases, with the intention of preventing his release on bail, and claimed that the action was at the behest of multinational corporations.
In a statement, he said workers of SH Electronics had been denied labour rights and dismissed over the past two years. He alleged that on March 27, workers who staged a protest along with their families seeking withdrawal of the company’s action were arrested by the police. The protest was led by party state committee member Muthukumar. He and five others were lodged in Vellore Central Prison at midnight, and Muthukumar was allegedly kept in separate confinement.
Shanmugam alleged that the police in Kanchipuram district were functioning in a manner that favoured corporate entities, which, he said, eroded public confidence and amounted to a violation of constitutional and human rights. He also raised concerns over the denial of bail even in cases registered under ordinary sections.
He urged the State government to take steps to secure the unconditional release of Muthukumar, CITU district deputy secretary Karthik, and workers Ganeshkumar, Neethivel, Madhanagopal and Mohan, who were dismissed following what it described as retaliatory action by SH Electronics. It also called for an end to the repeated arrests of Muthukumar.