DEATH TOLL HITS 13 IN TAMIL NADU PROTEST
11 shot dead by cops on Tuesday, which opposition says is mass murder
APROTESTER shot during demonstrations against a copper plant in southern India died of his injuries yesterday, the 13th victim killed by police fire.
A curfew remained in pockets of the city here in Tamil Nadu, where police used live ammunition to disperse protesters this week, provoking international outrage and demands for an immediate investigation.
Calls for the copper smelting plant owned by British mining giant Vedanta Resources to be closed had been building in recent months, with residents complaining it was polluting their city.
The resistance came to a head on Tuesday when police stopped a crowd of thousands from protesting outside the factory.
Cars and buildings were set ablaze and rocks hurled at police, who responded with live fire.
Eleven demonstrators were shot dead and many more injured in the melee, including 20 police.
Another protester died on Wednesday when he was struck by rubber bullets. The latest victim died in hospital two days after being injured, doctors said.
The chief minister of Tamil Nadu had ordered an inquiry but defended the actions of police, which the state’s opposition leader called “mass murder”.
“The police have a duty during protests to maintain law and order, but lethal force can only be used if there is an imminent threat to life,” Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.
“Tamil Nadu authorities need to carry out a prompt and credible investigation to determine if police used excessive force.”
The company had sought to renew the licence of the temporarily non-operational plant and hoped to double its production capacity. But a state court on Wednesday ordered that it cease construction at the new site.
The ruling came just hours after Tamil Nadu’s pollution board ordered the existing plant be shut and its power supply cut until a verdict is made on its licensing application.