Fresh firing kills 1 as anti-Sterlite stir spreads in Tamil Nadu

Chennai/Tuticorin: Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin town was on the boil again on Wednesday, with a man shot dead in police firing after fresh clashes erupted between security personnel and locals demanding closure of a copper factory over pollution concerns, a day after police action had left 11 protesters dead. One of them had succumbed to his injuries in hospital late on Tuesday night.

The police opened fire again on Wednesday to control a rioting mob at Anna Nagar, killing Kaliappan, 22, and injuring five others. The police came under attack with stones and petrol bombs, eyewitnesses said.

With 11 falling to police firing on Tuesday, when the anti-Sterlite stir entered its 100th day and the protesters marched to the district collector’s office to present their demand for permanent closure of the copper smelter unit alleging that it was polluting the environment and groundwater, Kaliapp-an’s death now has taken the toll in the unfortunate and avoidable tragedy to 12.

In the line of Opposition fire, the state government also set up a commission of inquiry headed by retired Madras high court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe the violence.

While the conflict seemed set for a prolonged showdown between the state and the protesters, who appear to be backed by a well-organised network of activists and Tamil fringe groups, the flareup is spreading to other parts of Tamil Nadu and adjacent Puducherry.

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Wednesday ordered a stay on the Sterlite expansion work and asked the Centre to file a report within four months after holding a public hearing. The significant court order was hailed by the protesters as their “first victory”, but given that they are now divided among different groups, their agitation is likely to go on unless the government quickly takes up damage-control exercises to assuage public fears while tackling the law-breakers with firmness.

The government has ordered a revamp of the district administration, bringing in a new collector and SP, besides sending two seasoned IAS officials, agriculture secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi and transport secretary P.W.C. Dawidar, to oversee the much-needed healing or firming-up process as “monitoring officers”.

Tamils in London, meanwhile, held a protest outside the residence of Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal, waving placards and demanding closure of his Sterlite unit in Tuticorin. Vedanta’s shares dropped by six per cent in the Indian market. The company’s woes appear to be worsening with the state government making clear it that was keen on the closure of the Tuticorin factory, that was established way back in 1993.

The Union home ministry has, meanwhile, sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the circumstances leading to the police firing on protesters. Taking cognisance of the large-scale violence, the National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to Tamil Nadu’s chief secretary and director-general of police, asking them to submit a detailed report in two weeks.