Smoke rises from vehicles set on fire during protests in Tuticorin, Tuesday. (Express Photo)
Tensions continue to remain high in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin town after 12 people were killed in clashes that broke out between police and locals who are protesting against the industrial plant. Nine were also critically injured in the firing. Chief Minister E K Palaniswami condoled the deaths and constituted a Commission of Inquiry headed by retired Madras High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe circumstances leading to firing. The Centre and NHRC have also sought a report over the violence.
The DMK, led by MK Stalin, and other Opposition parties in the state have also called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh on May 25, condemning the police action against protestors. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, in an interim order, stayed the expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper’s industrial unit on Tuesday.
Internet services in Tuticorin and adjoining districts of Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari have been suspended till May 27 to prevent spread of rumours through social media.
Protesters demanding the closure of the Vedanta unit in Tuticorin hit the streets again Wednesday. (PTI Photo)
Highlights
Sandeep Nanduri who took over as Thoothukudi's District Collector said his first priority would be to bring normalcy in Tuticorin. "As far as the violence, the shooting and who gave the orders for the shooting is concerned, an inquiry will be done by a judge appointed by the Tamil Nadu govt," he said, reported ANI. Sandeep had replaced N Venkatesh, while Murali Rambha took charge as district police chief
Home Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the death of the protesters in Tuticorin and asked people to maintain peace. "I am deeply pained at the loss of precious lives during the agitation at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. The MHA has taken cognisance of the situation and sought a report on the incident and the prevailing situation from the state government. My thoughts are with bereaved families. I also pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. I appeal to the people in Tuticorin to remain calm and maintain peace and tranquility in the region," he wrote on Twitter
The Sterlite protest had entered its 100th day on Tuesday, when things turned violent. In March, the residents in and around the plant conducted peaceful demonstrations at the Chidambaram Nagar bus stand in the district demanding the closure of the factory. Claiming that the water in the area has been contaminated due to the plant’s operations, the residents said that they were facing health issues. Some activists have said that the plant is posing a grave danger to the residents of the area as reports have suggested that throat and eye cancer cases have gone up in the area.
Read | Why people want Vedanta plant closed?
DMK leader MK Stalin, who was staging a protest outside Assembly, was detained by the Tamil Nadu police today. Slamming the police action, Stalin has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister K Palaniswami and state police chief T K Rajendran.
DMK Working President MK Stalin and other party leaders stage a protest outside Tamil Nadu secretariat over the violence during Anti-Sterlite protests in Tuticorin
Attacking "ineffective" Chief Minister Palaniswami over Tuticorin violence, DMK chief Stalin demanded his resignation. "Even after death of 12 innocent people, no action has been taken against the culprits. CM has become ineffective. He did not bother to visit the dist & meet the people. Therefore, we demand that CM must resign immediately, DGP Rajendran must resign too," MK Stalin said, reported ANI.
On Wednesday, Stalin called the police action, a "mass murder of innocent people" and questioned the police firing. "Why were automatic weapons used to disperse the crowd and under what law is this permitted? Why were rubber/ plastic bullets or other means NOT used to avoid fatal injuries? Why was no warning given before firing?" he wrote on Twitter.
He further tweeted, “Where does the final accountability lie for the brutal murder of at least 11 Tamils? Will @CMOTamilNadu take action against DGP for failing to maintain law and order? Will Chief Secretary explain her role in this entire episode? Will there be justice for #SterliteProtest?”
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan slammed the govt for suspending internet services in Tuticorin and adjoining districts. "Internet connection cut in Thooththukkudi? Alarming! What next? excommunicate Tamilnadu? TN would see an uprising, much bigger than any, in its history. No Government is strong enough to take on the might of my people," he tweeted
The DMK and other Opposition parties have called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh tomorrow, to protest against the violence in Tuticorin. The DMK, the All India National Congress, the Dravidar Kazhagam, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the CPI, the CPI(M), the Indian Union Muslim League, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi will participate in the day-long state-wide protest," DMK's release said. "The bandh will also reflect the feelings of Tamils."
"State govt knew that this being 100th day of agitation, it's going to be bigger. They should've made better arrangements to maintain law & order but nothing was done. They simply resorted to firing. It was a massacre, almost like Jallianwala Bagh," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, reported ANI
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has ordered the closure of Sterlite Copper Smelter plant in Thoothukudi with immediate effect and disconnected the power supply to the unit on Thursday. The board found that the unit was 'carrying out activities to resume production' despite being told not to do so until its licence to operate is renewed. In its order, the Board said that during its inspections on May 18 and 19, it found that the unit was 'carrying out activities to resume production' despite being told not to do so until its licence to operate is renewed. The board ordered the closure of the unit and disconnected the power supply under Section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Section 31A of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1971.
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, in an interim order, stayed the expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper’s industrial unit on Tuesday.
No fresh protest has been reported overnight, ANI reported. However, police have been deployed in large numbers in the sensitive coastal areas in order to avoid any flare up.
Enraged over videos purportedly showing a police beating a protester and personnel taking aim and firing on Tuesday, the protesters hit the streets on Wednesday and attacked police with stones, set two buses on fire and also tried to storm into a hospital where injured were kept.
The beating of a 22-year-old man, identified as Kaliappan, was purportedly captured on camera by a mediaperson. Visuals show the youth lying on the road with a group of policemen beating him and purportedly asking him to “stop acting” and get up. Both police and protesters were injured in the clashes on Wednesday.
Police said they were probing the role of a radical Left organisation in the protests and added that they had shifted their own personnel, whose faces are visible in the video clips being circulated, and their families out of the city.
Welcome to the live blog. Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin has been on a boil after 12 people were killed in police firing during protests against a Sterlite copper plant. Follow this space to track all the latest developments