India, April 10 -- A wage protest at Gurugram's IMT Manesar industrial hub turned violent on Thursday, leaving at least 22 people injured - including eight police officers - and four factories ransacked after clashes broke out between workers and police. Police said stone-pelting forced them to act; workers said they were charged without warning.

The unrest, building since Monday across multiple factories, erupted when, police officials said, workers at two adjacent plants in Sector 4 attempted to block the main road in defiance of prohibitory orders issued the previous day barring gatherings of five or more people carrying weapons.

Assistant commissioner of police (Manesar) Virender Saini, who was among the injured, said police moved t...