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TMC mob gheraoes VC, beats up officials at Kalyani University

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HOWRAH: The Howrah unit of Burn Standard witnessed a replay of the Kalyani University violence on Wednesday, when a Trinamool mob — allegedly led by Howrah mayoral council members — dragged out the general manager and beat him up on a busy road, bang opposite the Howrah police HQ.Like the Kalyani VC, GM Santanu Sarkar and DGM Sushanta Bhattacharya got no help from police and had to run for their lives. "The manner in which the GM was manhandled is a cause of concern. It will send a wrong message to investors," said another DGM, Debashis Bhattacharya .Coming just days after a British delegation called on CM Mamata Banerjee to explore investment opportunities in the state, the assault on the top boss of a PSU has dealt yet another blow to Bengal's business image.The INTTUC-affiliated labour union has been on hunger strike for the past week demanding re-hiring of 175 workers laid off last year by a contractor who quit due to a slump in wagon orders. On Wednesday, Gopal Bhattacharya - a Burn Standard employee who had taken VRS but is leading the agitation at the behest of Trinamool leaders - sent an SMS to mayoral council members. Within minutes MMiCs Gautam Chowdhury, Santanu Banerjee, Shyamal Mitra and Howrah municipal chairman Aurobinda Guha rushed to the factory and barged into the GM's office, say sources."Some TMC men entered my chamber at 3.30pm without appointment and started abusing me. A man who identified himself as an MMiC asked me to go to the agitators and tell them what plans I had for them. When I said a solution will take some time, he dragged me out of the chamber to where the agitators were sitting. He slapped me and said I had no business there," Sarkar said over phone.Seeing the GM being manhandled in front of the agitators, DGM Debashis Bhattacharya - who had come on inspection - rushed to his rescue. But he, too, was heckled and shoved around. Sensing that the mob might get out of control, Sarkar and Bhattacharya ran for their lives and took a taxi to the company's corporate office in Kolkata. They lay low for hours until Howrah OC Tathagata Pandey could get in touch with the GM.When the two officials were recovering from their trauma, MMiC Gautam Chowdhury filed a police complaint against the GM's securitymen. It was much later that Bhattacharya filed an FIR against Chowdhury. A police picket has been posted at the factory gates.Partha Chatterjee brokers Kalyani University peaceBurn Standard employees - around 800 permanent staffers and contractual workers - fear that the company might suspend operations. Tension has been simmering since 2013 when railway orders started drying up at the nationalized wagon-making unit. The contractor hired by Burn Standard refused to work at low prices and left. As a result, 175 contractual workers under him were laid off. The Trinamool-affiliated labour union has been negotiating with the management to find a new contractor and get the 175 workers back.The real trouble began after Gopal Bhattacharya - a self-claimed trade unionist - began interfering in the factory activities with support from local Trinamool leaders. On Wednesday, Bhattacharya took pride in admitting that he was carrying out the directions of the local Trinamool leadership. "Gopal's union is not even registered but he held a series of agitations at the factory gates, the latest being the relay hunger strike, to take back the 175 contractual workers," said employee Akbar Ali.