7,000 booked for violence, vandalism at Wistron iPhone unit in India

Kolar, Karnataka - The company stated that it suffered losses of over Rs437.7 crores during the violence on December 12.

By ANI

Published: Tue 15 Dec 2020, 7:20 AM

An First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against 7,000 unknown people including 5,000 contract workers in connection with violence and vandalism at the facility of Wistron Pvt Ltd, manufacturer of iPhone, at its plant in Kolar, police said.

In the FIR, the company stated that it suffered losses of over Rs437.7 crores during the violence on December 12.

Damages have been done to the property, office materials, vehicle and other things, as per the FIR registered at Vemagal police station, Kolar.

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Earlier on Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka CN Ashwath Narayan condemned the incident where hundreds of workers were seen entering the Wistron manufacturing plant at Narasapura in Kolar and smashing the office properties.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Apple Inc. has launched an investigation into the violence, which makes iPhones and other electronic products.

“Apple is dedicated to ensuring everyone in our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect. We have teams on the ground and immediately launched a detailed investigation at Wistron’s Narasapura facility in India," Apple said in a statement on Monday.

In a statement, the company said it is dispatching additional team members and auditors to the facility. “Our teams are in close touch with the local authorities and we’re offering our full support to their investigation," it added.

The investigation comes two days after worker unrest over a wage dispute turned violent at the plant in Kolar district, about 52 km from Bengaluru. In a complaint to the police, Wistron said it incurred losses of Rs437.7 crore due to the vandalism and theft. This included Rs412 crore of mobile phones, laptops and other production machinery, besides damage of around Rs10 crore to infrastructure and services, according to the complaint filed by Wistron.