Mr. Trotsky's Wet Dream

Lalit Kishore Choudhary was the CEO of the Indian operations of Graziano Transmissioni, an Italian car parts manufacturer with a plant in Delhi. The firm had earlier dismissed several employees, and last Monday, Choudhary called a meeting with the employees to discuss a possible reinstatement deal. The meeting went sour, and the CEO was clubbed to death by his employees. Reports The Telegraph of Calcutta:

Police sources said the company had asked the 11 employees to come for talks with the chief executive at 11.30am. Around 150 members of the local trade union — Udyog Vihar has an umbrella labour organisation — accompanied them.

Senior superintendent of police (Noida) R.K. Chaturvedi said the simmering tension burst into the open when an overzealous security guard, eager to keep the restive union members at bay, fired in the air.

Those inside Chowdhury’s room took the gunshot as a signal of intimidation and one of them dashed to see what had happened. Seeing him rush out, the waiting union leaders thought the talks had failed.

Around 50 of them, most of them carrying iron rods, hammers and batons, charged into Chowdhury’s chamber and repeatedly struck him on the head. The security guards were overpowered and beaten.

The Calcutta Telegraph adds some graphic context to industrial relations in the Bengal region:

The attack is reminiscent of Bengal’s militant union violence. Several white-collar employees of jute mills have been brutally killed by labourers: some were set on fire, others shot and at least one was thrown into a cauldron of boiling water.

Corporate India was predictably outraged, especially after the Indian Labour Minister failed to denounce the attack and said that it "should serve as a warning to management". Some of the reader comments at the London Times website seem to share the Minister's sentiment:

If they did more of this kind of thing here, CEOs would have to rein in their greed and treat people decently. People don't do things like this unless they have been pushed to the absolute brink. - jgmurphy, Skokie, USA

Ashamed? Those who put capitalism before humanity should be ashamed. - nonya, na, united States

Similar things happened in American history to lead to better workers rights. Bloody Tuesday in San Fransisco in 1907. Teamsters strikes in Minneapolis in 1934. Farmers lynched Judges during the Depression It's been proven over and over again that rights only come after they're fought hard for. - Thomas, Kansas City, MO, USA

The American Revolution was considered a "Criminal act" at the time... Sometimes a revolt like this will even the playing field a bit. CEO's making 300 times the amount of the average worker is damn near criminal. Hell, in a revolution, somebody has got to die. - Travis, Detroit, USA

This is just the beggining. Just wait until the economic depression comes when millions of jobs will be lost. How many CEOs will be murdered then? - Maria, Nairobi, Kenya

Chris from Manchester, England, voices a different perspective:

I wonder if people are missing the point. A man was killed. A father and husband was killed. A waste of life, taken from him by a baying mob. There are ways to deal with conflict, and voiolence is NEVER a way. 

Talk, boycot, strike. Hurt a company by hitting its finances. Not by murdering someone.