Rishra, Nov. 5: A group of around 60 workers ransacked the offices of Hastings Jute Mill in Hooghly’s Rishra today after the management reduced the number of shifts from three to two a day.

Chief executive officer S.N. Pal accused the BJP-backed union of the attack. The union put the blame on the INTTUC, which denied the allegation. Police have arrested 21 people.

The mill has 5,800 employees working in three shifts. Reducing the shifts to two meant 3,800 hands worked while the rest were benched. The mill said it reduced the shifts because workers who went home for Chhath are yet to return.