Police beat a protestor demanding closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, May 23. One person was killed during the clash, after police’s open fire killed at least 10 people on May 22, and injured
Thoothukudi continues to be in the grip of fear as a young man was killed in a fresh round of firing by the police on Wednesday, May 23. Visuals of cops dragging his body became viral on social media
Political outfits including the Thamizhaga Vazhvurimai Kootamaippu, the Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the May 17 Movement took out a procession and held an agitation in the city on Thursday condemning the killing of 12 protesters in Thoothukudi.
A shocking clip of a policeman in plain-clothes standing atop a police van — aiming at the protestors at the distance — has gone viral on social media with human rights activists alleging that the police made targetted strikes to kill protestors in cold blood. However, what makes the video truly chilling is the audio in the video where a policeman can be heard asking the shooter to "kill at least one person."
People’s Watch gives detailed account of Tuticorin police cruelty, wants CM to close Sterlite plant-Chennai : People’s Watch, a programme unit of the Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns, wants Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy to issue orders for immediate closure of the Sterlite Copper Smelter Part No 1 and stoppage of construction at the second plant.
ஒட்டுமொத்த அதிகார வர்க்கத்தின் தோல்வி தூத்துக்குடி படுகொலை!: ஹென்றி டிஃபேன் நேர்காணல்- தமிழகம் நன்கறிந்த மனித உரிமைச் செயல்பாட்டாளரான ஹென்றி டிஃபேன் இந்தப் போராட்டக் களத்தில் உள்ளே இருந்தவர். தூத்துக்குடியில் என்னவெல்லாம் நடந்தன? சொல்கிறார் ஹென்றி டிஃபேன்.
MADURAI Violation of human rights in the police firing on Tuesday was total and those who fired the shots at the people were not in police uniform, alleged human rights activist and executive director of People’s Watch, Henry Tiphagne, who was witnessed to what he called police excesses.
Henri Tiphagne of People’s Watch, an NGO, has demanded a joint suo moto enquiry by the NHRC and the SHRC on the entire duration of the Sterlite protest and the brutal use of police force at the protest.
He also demanded compensation of `20 lakh for each of the families of the victims.
Eleven people have lost their lives, including a teenager. Protesters who marched to the Thoothukudi Collectorate against the expansion of the Sterlite Copper plant owned by Vedanta limited were stopped by barricades put up by the police.
As people marched ahead, breaching the barricades and entered the Collectorate, the police retaliated and fired at the crowds. By Tuesday evening, more than ten people had lost their lives in the violence. (While TN government says 9 people have died, TN Governor put the number at 11).
Activists allege that three rounds of firing at different places by the police were only an attempt to “dilute the protests”. “There was an even bigger protest on March 24 in Tuticorin against Sterlite. But it was peaceful,” says Henry Tiphagne, the executive director of People’s Watch; he was present on the spot. “It is unfortunate that the state has failed to gauge the public mood. The people were angry but not violent. Certainly they were not angry against the government.”
Human rights activist and executive director of People’s Watch Henry Tiphagne, who was also in Tuticorin on Tuesday, told TOI that there was total violation of human rights in the police firing. He alleged that the people who shot at people were not in police uniform and that no formal procedure was followed before the firing.
