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Lockout declared in Dikom TE

By Staff Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, May 7 - The management of Dikom Tea Estate, some 20 km from here issued a lockout at the garden after its medical officer and the pharmacist on duty were assaulted last evening by members from the workers� community in the aftermath of an accident in which one woman worker died and three others sustained injuries.

Management sources said that the public assaulted the septuagenarian doctor and the pharmacist for no fault of theirs. The deceased woman identified as Jhalo Surjan (Munda) had succumbed after a tree fell on her and three other workers during a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. The attackers alleged that the ambulance reached the accident site late but the management has denied any lapse on their part. The protesting members of the workers� community who had staged demonstration near the garden hospital immediately after the incident had also manhandled one of the garden managers, sources informed.

The management sources said that an FIR against the attackers, who are believed to be non- workers, is being lodged with the police. The workers who held a public meeting today admitted that the local non-workers were involved in the violence. The meeting which was also attended by leaders from Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) and Assam Tea Tribes Students� Association (ATTSA) collectively stated that if at all there was any lapse on the part of the management in sending ambulance to pick the injured; justice could be demanded in a non-violent manner. They expressed regret for the assault. The meeting also resolved to negotiate with the management and other concerned authorities for withdrawal of the lockout.

Meanwhile, the last rites of the deceased Jhalo Surjan were performed today amid several hundred workers and sympathisers. The injured woman workers who were also rushed to Assam Medical College and Hospital last evening have been identified as Mangri Keot (46), Manik Murah (30) and Mamta Murah (22).

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