One killed in firing at Nagpur printing press

“On Saturday,Pohre came to the press along with newly-recruited security men. Some dispute arose but we don’t know details yet. A new guard fired at an old guard with his 12 bore gun,injuring him,” he said.

The guard,Rajendra Dupare died in hospital. Asked if the new guard fired on Pohre’s order,Sharma said: “Any guard,particularly one who hasn’t yet taken his position on duty,won’t fire on his own. We are investigating.”

Pohre said,“A labour unrest had been on for a few years. There was a lot of wastage. I decided to shut it down. I paid full dues of employees after consulting the Labour Commissioner and lawyers,and outsourced printing. The workers were protesting. Today,when I took some guards there,20-25 people started hurling stones at us. One of the guards opened fire. I had informed police about the impending problem.They took it lightly.”

Nagpur Union of Working Journalists president Shirish Borkar said the dispute had been pending. “Workers were marking their presence at the place of work. We demand registration of a murder offence against Pohre and others,a CID probe,Rs 15 lakh ex-gratia for Dupare’s family.”