TN Police arrest Sterlite firing victims’ lawyer
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu police on Thursday arrested advocate S Vanchinathan, one of the two lawyers accused of engineering anti-Sterlite Copper protests in Thoothukudi that resulted in police firing which killed 13 people on May 23.
Thoothukudi police picked up Vanchinathan at Chennai airport on Wednesday night on his return from New Delhi. He was the legal advisor for People’s Right Protection Centre, which actively participated in the Thoothukudi protests.
According to police officers who asked not to be identified, Vanchinathan is a practising advocate before the Madurai bench of the Madras high court.
Tamil Nadu police on Thursday arrested advocate S Vanchinathan, one of the two lawyers accused of engineering anti-Sterlite Copper protests in Thoothukudi that resulted in police firing which killed 13 people on May 23.
Thoothukudi police picked up Vanchinathan at Chennai airport on Wednesday night on his return from New Delhi. He was the legal advisor for People’s Right Protection Centre, which actively participated in the Thoothukudi protests.
According to police officers who asked not to be identified, Vanchinathan is a practising advocate before the Madurai bench of the Madras high court and has been periodically visiting Thoothukudi, instigating villagers to protest against Sterlite Copper. The copper factory of Sterlite in the coastal town has been a controversial one and locals worried about its environmental and health impact have been protesting its presence since the 1990s.
Both Vanchinathan and another lawyer, Hari Raghavan of Thoothukudi, have been booked under three sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The sections include 353 (criminal force to deter public servants from discharging duty), 148 (rioting with deadly weapons) and Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, police said.
“Prima facie our investigation reveals Vanchinathan’s association with protests. After being produced before a magistrate, the accused is now lodged in Palayamkottai jail. We are looking out for the other lawyer,” Murali Rambha, superintendent of police, Thoothukudi, told Hindustan Times. So far, about 250 arrests have been made in connection with the last month’s violence, Rambha added.
The Madurai bench of the Madras high court earlier this week dismissed anticipatory bail petitions moved by the two lawyers. “We strongly condemn the arrest of (Vanchinathan). He was arrested while he returned from New Delhi after attending a case before the Supreme Court, “said Jim Raj Milton, district secretary, People Right Protection Centre, Thoothukudi. HTC