The chief executive of Graziano Transmissioni India was yesterday beaten to death by a group of former workers when a meeting called to settle the dispute which led to their dismissal "turned sour", as the Guardian puts it.

Lalit Kishore Choudhary, 47, was attempting to resolve an extended industrial dispute at the car parts factory, in Uttar Pradesh state, which "led to the dismissal of hundreds of employees". However, when the parley got nasty, "the unemployed men began vandalising the machinery, turning on Choudhary when he tried to reason with them".

Police cuffed 63 former employees of Graziano in connection with Choudhary's murder, while a further 73 face charges of disturbing the peace. Dozens injured during the fracas were admitted to hospital.

Demonstrators, meanwhile, have blamed "outsiders" for the tragedy. One (presumably former) worker told the Hindustan Times: "We were demonstrating peacefully to get our jobs back. Outsiders may have assaulted the CEO leading to his death. Firing by the guards agitated workers and they clashed with the staff." ®

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