13 former Maruti workers awarded life imprisonment

Gurugram, March 18: A Haryana court on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to 13 former workers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited in connection with the 2012 Maruti factory violence and rioting case.

The court also sentenced four other accused to five-year imprisonment and said that the sentence already served by the remaining 14 accused was sufficient.

On March 10, Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goel held 31 former workers guilty of murder and attempt to murder, among other offences, at MSIL's Manesar plant on July 18, 2012 evening.

Maruti Suzuki Human Resource Department general manager Ashwin Kumar Dev was burnt alive



and over 50 persons were injured in the violence.

Several policemen had also received injuries.

Earlier in the day, Section 144 was imposed banning the assembly of five or more persons in the suburb of the national capital before the court could award the punishment to the convicts in the case.

The decision to impose Section 144 of the Code for Criminal Procedure in Gurugram district with immediate effect and till May 14 also comes in the wake of plans of Jat protesters from Haryana to take their stir to Delhi on March 20. The district administration is prepared to meet all eventualities, an official said on Saturday.