NEW DELHI: Madras High Court has asked the Tamil Nadu government to explain the circumstances that led to police firing into a crowd in Thoothukudi by June 6. Police authorities opened fired on protesters agitating against the expansion of the Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi, Tuticorin, on May 22, killing 13 people including two women. A day after the incident, the National Human Rights Commission took cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to Tamil Nadu chief secretary and police chief asking them to send a detailed report in the matter within two weeks.
As per a Bombat Stock Exchange filing, the company said it has received an “order dated May 28, 2018, from the Government of Tamil Nadu directing the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control board (TNPCB) to seal the company's Copper Smelter Plant 1... and to close the said plant permanently.” Actor Rajinikanth blamed “anti-social elements” for turning the silent protest against Sterlite into the violent agitation. Talking to the press after meeting the injured at the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, he said, “The present government should follow her example and control such miscreants with an iron hand. Such elements pose a threat to Tamil Nadu.”
Rajini also made an appeal to the people to distinguish protests for a good cause and those instigated by anti-social elements. “There was no violence during the silent protests that were organised for the first 99 days. There was violence and bloodshed during miscreants infiltrated,” he said. He said the police should identify those who resorted to violence with available CCTV and video footage, declare them as anti-social and publish their pictures in newspapers and release it to television channels. He also said the police should identify those who resorted to violence with available CCTV and video footage, declare them as anti-social.
“If there are any who are humane in Sterlite, they will not go to court for an appeal against the closure. Even if they go to court, there are those who are humane in the courts and will not allow them to resume operations. The plant should not resume operations and should not be allowed to operate,” Rajini said.
