Wednesday September 23, 02:50 PM

Pricol official beaten to death by employees in Coimbatore

CHENNAI, India (Reuters) - A senior official of a auto-parts manufacturer was beaten to death by angry employees in Coimbatore after dozens of workers were sacked, police said on Wednesday.

Roy George, a 47-year-old vice president at Pricol Ltd, died on Tuesday after employees barged into his office and beat him with iron rods and sticks, N. Kannan, a senior police officer, said from the southern city of Coimbatore.

The attack followed the dismissal of 42 employees which company officials said was because they failed to adhere to norms and were damaging equipment.

"They had a meeting, so this might have been a premeditated attack," Kannan also told Times Now news channel. Nine workers have been arrested so far, he said.

Pricol has been hit by the slump in the automobile industry and posted its first annual loss in 32 years in the last fiscal year. It also posted a loss in the April-June quarter.

Pricol employees have been on strike for the last two years over pay and other disputes.

Last year, workers beat to death the Indian head of an Italian industrial-gear maker near the Indian capital following a long industrial dispute which had led to the dismissal of hundreds of employees.

(Reporting by S. Murari; Writing by C.J. Kuncheria; Editing by Bappa Majumdar)

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