Copter helpers in net, blame on labour row

Mumbai: Two employees of an aviation maintenance firm have been arrested for the alleged bid to sabotage industrialist Anil Ambani’s helicopter, with police claiming the plot stemmed from a labour dispute and not corporate shenanigans.
Uday Warekar, 32, and Palraj Thevar, 38, worked as helpers with Airworks India Engineering Ltd, which serviced the Bell helicopters of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).
The duo, remanded in police custody till May 15, are members of the Maharashtra General Kamgar Mahasangh (MGKM), the recognised union at the aviation firm.
The arrests follow the discovery of seven peanut-sized pebbles and soil inside the gearbox of the Bell 412 helicopter in which Ambani was to fly on April 24 morning.
The probe took a dark twist last week with the death of Bharat Borge, the technician who discovered the gearbox garbage. The police ruled the death a suicide, but Borge’s family suspects foul play.
Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said the chopper had been sent to the Airworks hangar for maintenance on April 22 evening, and was checked thoroughly by its engineers and technicians. Warekar, the police claimed, had inserted the pebbles and soil on April 23 morning when he and Thevar were assigned clean-up jobs as part of pre-flight maintenance.
Maria said the duo wanted to create problems for the Airworks management with whom their union has been fighting a case in the labour court since 1995. “They knew the helicopter belonged to Ambani and (that their act) would get the management into trouble,” he said.
Condemning the helpers’ “malicious act”, an Airworks statement said the company had initiated legal action against the duo.
If convicted, the duo may face life terms.
05/05/09 The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports May 2009, Indian Aviation- In General May 2009, Safety May 2009