Sterlite protests: One killed, 3 injured in fresh police firing in Tuticorin

A day after 11 people lost their lives, another person was killed in fresh police firing on anti-Sterlite plant agitators in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin town on Wednesday. Angered over Tuesday’s killings, locals took to streets and started pelting stones at security personnel, prompting police to open fire at Anna Nagar, officials said.

Earlier on Tuesday, 11 people, including a girl, were killed and several others injured after police opened fire at protesters demanding the closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit.

The residents of Tuticorin were protesting for over 100 days demanding the closure of the Sterlite Copper unit. They alleged that the plant was polluting groundwater and causing serious health issues. Sterlite Copper is a unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000-tonne per annum capacity plant in Tuticorin. The protests escalated after the company announced the expansion of the unit.

Updates:

#03:55 PM: One person killed, three injured in fresh violence: Enraged over Tuesday's killings, the protesters started hurling stones at police, prompting them to open fire. A man was killed and three others injured in fresh police firing. 

#SterliteProtests: One person dead, 3 injured in fresh violence at Anna Nagar in #Thoothukudi pic.twitter.com/SJS3fFgTaI

— ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2018

#03:45 PM: Protestors set police buses on fire: Two police buses parked in a residential neighbourhood were set on fire by the agitators. While the fire was extinguished in one vehicle, another was gutted completely. (PTI)

# 03:30 PM: Madras HC stays expansion of Sterlite plant: In view of the violent situation over Vedanta's Sterlite plant in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin that has claimed several lives, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday stayed the ongoing construction of a new copper smelter by the company.

#02:30 PM: DMK compares Tuticorin killings with Punjab's Jallianwalla Bagh: The Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came out strongly against the killings of protesters in police firing and compared the incident with Punjab's Jallianwalla Bagh massacre by the British, which took place nearly a hundred years ago. 

"A recent survey shows that maximum protests happen in Tamil Nadu. That's because of the inefficiency of the government. This is a Jallianwallah Bagh type of massacre. The government should pack up and go," DMK leader Sarvanan said.

# 02:15 PM: Kamal Haasan visits Tuticorin: Actor-turned-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan on Wednesday visited General Hospital in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) to meet the protesters injured in the police firing. 

"We must know who ordered this firing. It is not me but the victims who are demanding this. Merely announcing compensation isn't a solution. This industry must be shut and this is what people are demanding," Haasan said after meeting the injured.