Around 160 people have been arrested in connection to riots at a Taiwanese-run iPhone factory in Kolar, India.

Workers at the Wistron Corp's facility were accused of smashing equipment and setting light to vehicles on Sunday (December 13), equating to T$200 million ($7.12 million) in damage.


According to local reports, staff at the factory claim to have not been paid for four months and are being forced to work extra shifts.

The number of arrests over the violence at Wistron Corporation’s iPhone manufacturing plant in Kolar district approached 160 on sunday as the company counted the cost of Saturday’s incident. Many new phones, laptops, and monitors are missing from the plant, located inside the Naraspura industrial estate in Kolar in Karnataka, according to the assessment and a complaint filed by Wistron Private Limited.

A huge group of employees, furious over delayed salaries, wrecked furniture, equipment, and other property at the unit early on Saturday. Some vehicles were also torched.160 people had been arrested so far in connection with the violence. They have been booked for unlawful assembly, rioting with deadly weapons, voluntarily causing hurt, trespass, dacoity, and other offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Arrests are being made based on the CCTV footage of the incident. Investigators are also checking the shift roster to identify employees. The Wistron administrator’s complaint alleges that about 5,000 people, including at least 2,000 “outsiders”, participated in the violence. On Sunday, a huge contingent of police personnel kept vigil in and around the factory. Most shops in the industrial area remained shut, fearing trouble.