10 union leaders at Maruti's Manesar plant arrested: Top 10 developments

Ram Mehar, president of the erstwhile Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU), on Wednesday was arrested by the Gurgaon police. With this, all the labour union leaders are now in police custody, said Rajeev Dalal, Director General of Police, Haryana. Mehar had been absconding since the July 18 violence by workers that left a senior manager dead and scores other employees injured.

The police will produce the arrested union members in court on Thursday to request a 10-day remand.  So far, 114 workers have been arrested for the violence. The police had also stationed a battalion of police at Manesar to ensure quicker response, Dalal said.

Maruti Suzuki's July sales jumped 9.2 per cent on an annual basis, despite the lockout at its Manesar plant that started two weeks ago following violence by workers that left a senior manager dead. Maruti sold 82,234 units in July, driven mostly by its compact sedan Dzire. The company's stock closed 0.78 per cent lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday, while the Sensex rose 0.12 per cent.

Maruti has declared a lockout at its plant in Manesar in Haryana, where parts of the complex were also burnt. The company has said it will not restart operations until employee safety can be assured.

Maruti has two plants in Harayana-one in Manesar and one in Gurgaon. The plant where the riots took place produces 1,700 cars a day. The company's popular Swift and Dzire models are made in this plant. The lockout is costing the company nearly Rs 80 crore a day. The Manesar factory's total annual capacity of 550,000 cars produces a third of Maruti's output.

The ca rmaker's chairman, R.C. Bhargava, earlier said that it is impossible to import extra vehicles or shift lost production to another plant. "How long it will take? 10 days? 15 days? I don't know," he said on July 21 in his first public remarks following the violence. "We'll put all our resources to study and help the authorities but... I cannot say when we will be able to restart the plant."

Maruti officials have denied reports that the company is likely to close the Manesar plant, where the company builds its best-selling Swift hatchback-the runaway leader in its segment. Bhargava has said the company will not be able to offset some of the lost production with imports or by increasing productivity at its other factory.

The riot began after an altercation between workers and managers over a disciplinary incident involving a single worker. The factory's workers' union has accused Maruti officials of starting the violence and using hired thugs to beat workers.

Workers at the plant attacked senior officials with iron rods, wooden sticks and unfinished car parts. Police are investigating the factory's entire 3,000-strong workforce and are seeking to press murder charges.

Suzuki executives say they are keen to establish Gujarat as their exports hub by 2015. In June 2012, the Gujarat government had allocated around 700 acres for Maruti's proposed plant near Mehsana. Maruti had said it would invest Rs 4,000 crore to set up the new manufacturing facility in Gujarat by 2015-16.