Reliance Industries former employees detained in Mumbai

Mumbai, June 12 (ANI): As many as 50 former employees of Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited was detained in Mumbai.

The sacked employees intending to stage a protest demonstration under the banner of the CRS Anyay Nirmulan Sanghatana were from the Patalganga unit of Reliance Industries located near Panvel, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The family members of the detained employees alleged that they had not been given prior intimation about lay-offs and that the arbitrary decision of the management took them by surprise.

They also related about their woes as to how they are facing a lot of hardship with their sole source of income being taken away.

"The Company has not given us any notice. The management didn't even pay us and now the protesting employees have been put behind the bars.

Retrenched employees don't even have the backing of the labour unions. It is difficult even to run our homes," said Kokilaben, wife of a detained former employee.

The protestors were detained while they were on their way to Chairman Mukesh Ambani's residence at Cuffe Parade, an up market neighbourhood in Mumbai.

They have been sent to the Azad Maidan Police Station.

The late Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the corporate giant set up the Patalganga (PG) division of Reliance Industries Limited in Raigad district of Maharashtra in early 80s.

Over the period, it had developed into a leading manufacturer of petrochemicals and allied fibre intermediates.

Located on the banks of River Patalganga, this complex is well connected in terms of modes of transport - by road (7 kilometre off the Mumbai-Pune highway), by sea (quite close to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) and air (78 kilometre from Mumbai Airport).

No senior managerial person of Reliance Industries was available for comments. (ANI)