The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : CPI (M) stages protest at Amway office

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Saturday, Nov 03, 2007
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CPI (M) stages protest at Amway office

Special Correspondent

‘Attack’ on party leader the trigger; agitators break police cordon

— Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

IN ANGRY MOOD: CPI (M) activists hurling stones at the Amway office in Bhubaneswar on Friday to protest against the alleged highhandedness of the company’s representatives towards party State secretary Janardan Pati.

Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a demonstration outside the office of Amway here on Friday to vent their anger against the ‘assault’ on the secretary of the party’s State unit, Janardan Pati, on Thursday. The workers broke the police cordon and reached the office of Amway in Sahid Nagar area of the city.

Even through adequate security was put in place by the policemen, the angry workers of the party threw stones at the building that housed the Amway breaking windowpanes.

The workers held a meeting at the demonstration site demanding immediate arrest of all the Amway agents who ‘attacked’ Mr. Pati and three others at their party office on Gangadhar Meher Marg.

The agents, who were holding a meeting by hiring the ground floor space of the CPI (M) office, entered into an altercation with a staff member of the party office over parking of vehicles around 7 p.m. on Thursday. When Mr. Pati came down from the first floor to intervene, the agents ‘assaulted’ him and others and ransacked the office.

The Nayapalli police have already arrested six Amway agents for their alleged involvement in the attack.

The six, who are all government employees, were produced before a local court in the afternoon and were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days after counsel for the party Bibhu Prasad Tripathi argued that they accused persons should not be granted bail.

Meanwhile, the All India Lawyers’ Union demanded that a through probe should be ordered into the entire incident to bring the culprits to book.

BERHAMPUR: City unit of the CPI (M) demonstrated in front of the office of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) demanding strict action against the employees of the Amway, who allegedly attacked party State secretary Janardan Pati.

Led by the secretary of the city unit, Basant Nanda, they handed over a memorandum, addressed to the Chief Minister, to the RDC demanding action against those responsible for the ‘attack’ within seven days and a proper investigation into the incident.

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