By Arunkumar Rao/Dominick Rodrigues

Bengaluru : Violence and vandalism was at the fore when irate workers of Wistron Corporation — a Taiwan-based company — who were protesting non-payment of wages, went on the rampage, damaging equipment and infrastructure worth Rs 437 crore. Police nabbed around 160 of the protestors, who were identified from video and social media footage of the incident that highlighted the mob pelting stones, breaking windows and doors, and damaging vehicles parked on the premises.

 Condemning the vandalism, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, C N Ashwath Narayan – who also holds the IT-BT portfolio — said strict action would be taken under the law against those involved in the incident at the Wistron Corporation production plant.

 Describing the incident as +deeply shocking+, Wistron Corporation Managing Director Sudipto Gupta said the company is assisting the concerned authorities in their investigations while ensuring top priority in the safety and wellbeing of its staff. The company officials, in their police complaint, alleged loss of and damage to office equipment, production machinery, mobile phones and other gadgets, besides vehicles.

 The company, which is headquartered in Taipei and located in Narasapura Industrial area of Kolar district in Karnataka – 52 kms from Bengaluru — is involved in manufacture of devices for multiple global brands and companies including Apple. The production plant in Kolar had been commissioned in 2019 by providing jobs to about 3,000 workers in the first phase through investment of Rs 680 crores as a manufacturing and service centre for mobile gadgets like iPhone, besides the second phase investment involving Rs 3,000 crores and over 9,000 jobs.

The Kolar police have registered various cases covering unlawful assembly, rioting with armed deadly weapons, voluntarily causing hurt, trespass, dacoity, damage, breach of peace, criminal intimidation and unlawful assembly.