Nine dead as protest against Sterlite turns violent in Tamil Nadu

Nine people were killed and many injured after police opened fire on protesters demanding the closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, over pollution concerns and other issues.

While the Tamil Nadu government has appointed a one-man commission of a retired judge to probe the incident, opposition parties have hit out at the police action.

The agitation has been continuing for the last 100 days against Sterlite Copper, which represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited. The recent protests gathered steam after Sterlite announced plans to invest Rs 25 billion in doubling the capacity of its existing facility to 800,000 tonnes per annum once the ongoing expansion is over.

Ever since the project went on stream, the company has been facing problems as agitators claim that the factory is causing harm to its employees. They have been supported by political parties and other social activists. The management of the factory has refuted the allegations, saying it has been running the factory in accordance with regulations.

The state government said that on Tuesday, around 20,000 people took out a rally against Sterlite and soon turned violent. The protesters allegedly started attacking police personnel, burnt police vehicles and vandalised the collector’s office. As police could not control the mob, they resorted to firing.

In a statement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswamy confirmed that the death toll had touched nine. He announced Rs 1 million for those who lost family members, Rs 300,000 for people who were injured severely, and Rs 100,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.