After deadly Indian smelter protests, arrests stoke tension

THOOTHUKUDI, India: Eleven days after police in southern India fired on protesters seeking the shutdown of a copper smelter owned by London-listed Vedanta, killing 13, residents say people suspected of involvement in the demonstrations are being targeted in a wave of arrests.

More than 10 people have been picked up by the police in raids over the last four days in and around the port city of Thoothukudi, according to lawyer E Athisayakumar, who is working along with other local lawyers to release those detained.

Police confirmed that arrests were taking place.

The crackdown highlights the tensions that continue to fester despite the Tamil Nadu state government’s orderto permanently shut down the smelter, on environmental grounds, in the aftermath of the deadly protests – a move that sources say the company may appeal.

The district administration says the area is returning to normality, with shops and businesses reopening and buses running.

But some residents say deep divisions remain in the city and surrounding villages between the protesters, the authorities and Vedanta employees.

“We are scared that the police will randomly drop by and pick us up without explanations,” said 44-year- old local man S Kasirajan. Eight other residents who spoke to Reuters said they too were living in constant fear of arrest.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Office and the head of the state police did not respond to emails seeking comment on the total number of people detained, or whether the authorities planned to arrest more people.

D Jayakumar, a senior minister who has previously spoken on behalf of the state government, said he did not want to offer an immediate comment.

Lawyers said those arrested were accused of breaching orders banning gatherings that had been made in the run-up to the May 22 demonstration, and of protesting without permission.

Police said more than 80 generic complaints, which did not name the accused, had been filed by residents at a local police station – allowing them to arrest anyone they suspected of involvement in what they described as “antisocial activities”.

More than 150 people held in the days following the violence have been bailed by the courts after lawyers filed petitions seeking their release, said AWD Thilak, the head of the Thoothukudi Bar Association.

Among those arrested in recent days were three men picked up in a village near Thoothukudi early on Thursday for breaching the orders banning gatherings that were imposed on May 22, according to police and the men’s families.

P Parthiban, a 27-year old welder from the village Meelavitaan, was taken from his home at 3.15am, a family member told Reuters.

T Balasingh, 30, who runs a shop in the village, was dragged by his collar to a jeep parked outside after police broke into his house, his mother T Jayaleela said. — Reuters