Message 1: “Manager Rambir must be killed.”
Message 2: “There are police officers ahead; go from behind and open fire.”
Message 3: “Get some beer from the liquor store, fill up with gasoline, and light it on fire.” During the protests over wage hike at Gurugram’s IMT Manesar Industrial Estate on April 9, several messages of a particular nature were circulated in WhatsApp groups of employees and workers. These groups include workers and staff working in different companies of that area. Police investigation has revealed that the subsequent stone pelting incident was directly instigated by these messages. The crowd went out of control, due to which the police had to resort to lathicharge to restore order. According to the police, the people sending these inflammatory messages were outsiders. The employees were deliberately incited to violence. Plans were made to set fire to the company premises using petrol bombs. Incidents of arson and vandalism were reported at many places. So far, the police have arrested 61 people in this case, including 15 women. However, some people have got bail, while the rest are still lodged in Bhondsi jail.
Know how this conspiracy was hatched in WhatsApp groups…
**Threats to kill a manager:** In a group, messages were exchanged discussing plans to kill a particular manager named Rambir. One message clearly said, “Take Rambir out; he has to come out.” It is clearly evident from these messages that their objective was to kill the manager and thus instigate a riot.
**Plans to attack at night:** One message read, “Wait for nightfall, and then burn everything. Let’s see what the police do.” This message suggests that the instigators were instructing workers to remain quiet during the day, and saving their plans to set fire to company premises for the night—especially when there was likely to be less police presence.
**Preparations for petrol bomb attacks:** Many messages also emphasized on carrying out attacks using petrol bombs. Messages circulated in WhatsApp groups instructed members to “buy empty beer bottles from a liquor store, fill them with petrol, and throw them on the company premises to create fear.” This clearly shows that the intention of the instigators was to target many companies in the industrial estate.
Now know how this controversy actually started…
**April 6: Honda employees protest:** On April 6, Honda company employees went on strike demanding a salary increase. On April 7, the company agreed to their demands, and the employees returned to work. However, on the same day, workers at other companies—including Toyam, Munjal Showa, Rico, Richa Global and others—also began protesting demanding a wage increase.
**April 9: Stone pelting and arson:** In view of the protests by employees, Section 163 was imposed. On this day, employees stopped work. Citing Section 163, the police on 9 April directed the workers not to continue their protest. Meanwhile, a company premises was pelted with stones. Police lathicharged the employees. Following this, a police motorcycle was set on fire, and several vehicles were vandalized.
**Police statement: “It was a big conspiracy”:** Two cases have been registered at IMT Manesar Sector 7 police station. Police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said the nature of the messages received from the WhatsApp group revealed that a major conspiracy had been hatched—which the police successfully foiled in time. A thorough investigation of this matter is still going on.
