11 die in police action; TN govt sets up inquiry panel
TUTICORIN/CHENNAI: The Tuticorin town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu was on the boil again on Wednesday, with a man shot dead in police firing following fresh clashes between security personnel and locals, who are demanding closure of a copper factory over pollution concerns, a day after police action left 10 protesters dead.
In the line of Opposition fire, the state government constituted a Commission of Inquiry headed by retired Madras High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe the violence.
District Collector N Venkatesh has been replaced by the Collector of neighbouring Tirunelveli, Sandeep Nanduri, while Nilgiris district police chief Murali Rambha will take over from Superintendent of Police P Mahendran.
The Union Home Ministry has, meanwhile, sought a report from the state government on the circumstances leading to police firing on protesters demanding the closure of UKbased conglomerate Vedanta group's Sterlite Copper plant, which they claim had polluted ground water in the area, official sources said in New Delhi.
Taking cognizance of the large-scale violence, the National Human Rights Commission issued notices to state chief secretary and the director general of police, asking them to submit a detailed report in two weeks, while the state's high court stayed the proposed expansion of the plant.
Enraged over Tuesday's killings, protesters took to streets on Wednesday morning, attacking police with stones, setting two government vehicles on fire, and trying to storm into a hospital where injured were kept, prompting security personnel to baton-charge them and open fire, officials said.
Several people, including police personnel, were injured in clashes. Seeking to control the damage done due to police action, the government announced constitution of the Jagadeesan commission of inquiry.
“The panel will cover the law and order incidents following the siege of the District Collectorate on May 22 by thousands of persons violating prohibitory orders,” an official release said in Chennai.
Reinforcements have been rushed to Tuticorin from adjoining districts to assist the local police and civil administration in restoring calm in the strife-torn town.
A Madras High Court bench comprising Justices M Sundar and Anitha Sumanth, meanwhile, stayed the proposed expansion of the plant on a petition filed by environmental activist Fathima Babu.
The bench also directed the central government to submit a report within four months after inviting public opinion on the expansion plan.
Sterlite had got consent for expansion, after the existing unit was shut two months ago by an order of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
NHRC, citing media reports, observed, “It appears that the authorities probably failed to foresee the tragic violence which took place”.
Noting that the agitation against the alleged polluting unit was on for more than three months, the rights body said effective precautionary measures and deployment of adequate number of police personnel could possibly have averted violence.
“It also appears from several media reports, including those on TV news channels, that the police resorted to firing on unarmed protesters without following the Standard Operating Procedure, which tantamount to serious violation of human rights and thus is a matter of concern,” it said.