Panipat, Feb 23: Security personnel fired two warning shots into the air on Monday to disperse a violent demonstration at the Panipat Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Baholi. The clash broke out when contract workers, protesting over labor conditions at the Indian Oil facility, began hurling stones and damaging security vehicles.
The confrontation at the petrochemical hub, located approximately 125km from Delhi, resulted in damage to at least two vehicles belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). While the standoff turned volatile, authorities affirmed that no injuries were reported from either the security forces or the protesting laborers.
Inspector Neeraj Kumar, in-charge of the Panipat Sadar police station, declared that the decision to fire in the air was a necessary step to restore order after the situation escalated. He maintained that the intervention successfully moved the crowd away from the refinery’s main gate.
The laborers asserted that their protest was driven by a series of long-standing grievances, including delayed salary payments and unsanitary working conditions. A primary point of dispute involved shift lengths; workers stated they are compensated for only eight hours of duty despite routinely working 12-hour shifts. They also affirmed that unjust deductions were being made from their wages.
Following the dispersal, DSP (Headquarters) Satish Kumar declared that the environment had stabilized. He maintained that no formal complaints had been lodged by Monday evening and that the administration had initiated a meeting between the workers and refinery management to address the core issues. Indian Oil Corporation has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the clash.
