10 hurt as tea estate owners open fire on workers

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, December 13

At least 10 tea garden workers were injured, two of them seriously, when two owners opened fire on the protesting staff at a tea estate at Numaligarh in Golaghat district of Assam today.

The police said the owners of Bogidhola Tea Estate — Sudhir Roy and Samir Roy — had been arrested. They opened fire on the protesting tea workers who were seeking dues and annual bonus. The injured were admitted to a nearby hospital. 

The police said the duo had two licensed guns — one SBBL gun and a shot gun. They said the protest turned violent with workers setting trees, in the plantation area, on fire, besides laying a siege to the tea estate office. The workers alleged the owners were not paying heed to their demands and accused the state-level tea workers’ unions of favouring them.