Police testing drone for aerial monitoring in Thoothukudi

Thoothukudi district police are planning to use a drone for aerial monitoring of the city to keep a tab on people who had been involved in stone pelting and hurling of petrol bombs in the city for the last two days.

The drone is being tested near VOC College on Palayamkottai Road.

The police said that several mobs were involved in pelting stones on the police ever since police firing on Tuesday at the Collectorate claimed several lives. Stone pelting incidents have been reported at Bryant Nagar, Anna Nagarand areas around Government hospital here.

Though there were two attempts to lob petrol bombs on the police, no one was injured.

Meanwhile, unidentified persons set on fire a police vehicle in the city on Wednesday. An attempt by the police to chase stone pelters turned violent when the police fired rubber bullets at Anna Nagar. This led to the dead of a youth Kaliappan (22).

With the miscreants and mob keeping the police on their toes, the police have chosen to take a safer path to monitor the movement of the miscreants through aerial survey.

Death toll goes up to 13

Meanwhile, the death toll in the police action on Tuesday and Wednesday went up to 13 with one Selvasekar (43) of Sawyerpuram near Pudukottai of the district succumbing to injuries.

Selvasekar had sustained serious injuries in the police lathi charge when a section of the anti-Sterlite protesters set on fire scores of vehicles parked on the Collectorate premises on Tuesday. He was admitted to the Government hospital here. He breathed his last in the early hours of Thursday.