Indian shops pillaged as security guards go on strike

[Naveed Yaseen]

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of shops belonging to India’s biggest discount retailer were ransacked after security guards refused to report for work as they had not been paid, the company’s chief said on Monday.

Subhiksha Trading Services has been hit by the economic downturn and is unable to pay staff due to the “non-availability of bank credit,” managing director R Subramanian told AFP. “Around 600 of our stores have been targeted by unidentified elements and there has been large-scale ransacking,” he said. “The company seems unable to protect its properties as due to non-payments to security agencies and staff.”

Subramanian declined to speculate on who was behind the attacks. Outlets in the capital New Delhi and in the western cities of Nashik and Ahmedabad were among those ransacked last week.

In a statement emailed to AFP, the company said its staff was “fed up with non-payment of salaries for four months.” Subhiksha’s operations have ground to a halt as it has not been able to access funds for more than six months and has defaulted on rent, vendor and salary payments, it added.

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