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India strike enters second day India man loses ear during strike violence
(about 9 hours later)
A strike called by India's trade unions over the government's economic reforms has entered its second day. A government employee's ear has been cut off in India's West Bengal state after he did not come to work during the country's ongoing two-day strike.
Security is tight in Noida, a Delhi suburb where angry workers attacked factories and set ablaze 25 vehicles, including a fire truck, on Wednesday. Hazrat Omar had been absent on Wednesday and was attacked on Thursday when he returned to work.
Police said over 50 people had been held in connection with the violence. The strike has been called by trade unions to protest against the government's economic policies.
The first day of the two-day strike drew a mixed response. Many state-run banks were closed and public transport disrupted in parts of the country. The unions are also protesting against price rise, inflation and alleged violation of labour laws.
But the capital, Delhi, and the western city of Mumbai were largely unaffected and financial markets were open. Mr Omar alleged that his attackers were members of the state's ruling Trinamul Congress Party, which is opposing the strike. Party officials have denied this.
In Noida, factory owners said police did not arrive in time to prevent the violence. On Thursday, television channels showed photos of Mr Omar at a hospital with a bandage around his ears and head.
"The windows of many factories in Noida were broken. We called the police but they were delayed, and meanwhile the damage was done," Pankaj Shah, a factory owner, told the Associated Press news agency. The incident took place in Debipur village in Murshidabad district.
In northern Punjab state a labour leader was killed when he tried to stop buses from leaving a bus station in the city of Ambala. Reports said Mr Omar has not yet lodged a formal complaint with the police.
The government in West Bengal state had earlier warned workers not to skip work during the strike and the state has remained largely unaffected by the shutdown.
Transport disrupted
Elsewhere in India, public-sector banks and many government offices were shut on Thursday on the second day of the strike.
Banking services were hit with ATMs running out of cash in many cities and public transport was disrupted.
In the capital, Delhi, auto-rickshaws and taxis were off the roads, but metro services were functioning normally.
The western city of Mumbai was largely unaffected and financial markets were open.
Security was tight in Noida, a Delhi suburb, where on Wednesday angry workers attacked factories and set ablaze 25 vehicles, including a fire truck.
Police said more than 100 people had been held in connection with the violence.
On Thursday, police patrolled the streets of Noida and a large number of policemen were deployed in areas identified as sensitive.
Schools and colleges were closed in the area as a precaution, officials said.
In the northern city of Jammu, workers, carrying bright red flags, participated in a rally on Thursday.
All major unions are protesting against government moves to open retail, insurance and aviation sectors to foreign investment and increase prices of subsidised fuel and cooking gas.All major unions are protesting against government moves to open retail, insurance and aviation sectors to foreign investment and increase prices of subsidised fuel and cooking gas.
A one-day strike against reforms last September shut down some cities and cost Asia's third-largest economy millions of dollars in lost business.A one-day strike against reforms last September shut down some cities and cost Asia's third-largest economy millions of dollars in lost business.
The government's "big bang" reforms are aimed at reviving a flagging economy, as well as avoiding the threat of a downgrade in India's credit rating.The government's "big bang" reforms are aimed at reviving a flagging economy, as well as avoiding the threat of a downgrade in India's credit rating.
PM Manmohan Singh says the reforms will "help strengthen our growth process and generate employment in these difficult times". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the reforms will "help strengthen our growth process and generate employment in these difficult times".