WISL workers release hostages after two days

VASCO: Striking Western India Shipyard Limited (WISL) workers locked the Mormugao police within the shipyard on Saturday. The police had come there to rescue two workers being held hostage by the strikers since two days. Mormugao police said two interns of a private auditing company, Dammor Joshi and Manish Bohest had been sent from the WISL head office two days back to carry out auditing work.Senior auditors were to join them later.
The striking workers held Joshi and Bohest hostage at the shipyard for two days. On Saturday, when Mormugao PI Kapil Nayak, PSI Patil, along with some eight constables, entered the shipyard to release the auditors, the workers locked the gate from inside and sat in front of it shouting slogans against the company and the government.
PI Nayak immediately telephoned the leader of the workers Ajit Singh Rane and warned of strict action. Rane arrived by 3pm and urged the workers to release the interns and co-operate with the police. He said the company had done the workers injustice by not paying them salaries in spite of assurances. He also blamed the chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, local MLA and power minister Milind Naik and the government for not fulfilling their duties.
Both Joshi and Bohest were taken to the police station, but they refused to lodge a complaint against the workers. They maintained that though they were held for two days, they were given food and were not manhandled.
TOI