The premises of BRAMAS Industrial Service Association, a common raw material procurement facility for about 170 fabrication units in Tiruchi, was allegedly locked up forcibly by a group of persons led by the proprietor of one of its member units on Thursday.
The BRAMAS unit functioning at the Thuvakudi Industrial Estate on the outskirts of the city was alleged to have been locked up by Navalpattu Viji, a DMK functionary who also runs a fabrication unit.
BRAMAS president M. Srinivasan, in a complaint lodged with the Thuvakudi police, alleged that Mr. Viji, accompanied by about 10 persons, visited the BRAMAS unit on Thursday morning and chased away the employees working there and locked up the front gate. They had allegedly assaulted the watchman on the premises.
Mr. Viji allegedly threatened and abused the directors of BRAMAS. He and his accomplices were said to have left the premises by afternoon after unlocking the BRAMAS gate when its directors decided to take up the matter with the police. More than Rs. 2 crore worth of raw material had been stored on the premises, BRAMAS members said.
Addressing a hurriedly convened press conference here late in the evening, Mr. Srinivasan said Mr. Viji had been angered over the BRAMAS decision to withhold supply of raw material to his firm pending a decision by its board.
Mr. Viji is reported to have quoted lower than the rates suggested by BHELSIA, an association of small scale fabrication units, for a recent tender floated by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Tiruchi.
As BHEL gives the order at the lowest rate quoted, the fabrication units stood to incur losses on the essential general fabrication and ducts order.
Irked over Mr.Viji’s action, BHELSIA had recently requested BRAMAS and BIDASS, another common service agency of the fabrication units, not to extend their services to Mr. Viji’s firm as he was acting against common interests.
Meanwhile, Mr. Viji had approached BRAMAS seeking raw material. However, BRAMAS had decided to place the matter at its board for a decision in view of the BHELSIA request.
Mr. Srinivasan alleged that Mr. Viji was angered over this and Thursday’s attack was a sequel to this, he said.
