Police fired at anti-Sterlite protestors at behest of industrialist: Madras High Court

Chennai: The Madras High Court has expressed displeasure over the manner in which the CBI conducted the investigation into the 2018 Tuticorin police firing against anti-Sterlite protestors in which 13 persons were killed.

Observing that the investigation was not done in a fair manner, the court further stated that “we believe that the police firing was a predetermined act carried out at the behest of an industrialist”.

A division bench comprising Justices S S Sundar and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observation recently while hearing a petition from Henri Tiphagne, a social activist. The plea sought to reopen the probe closed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) into the incident.

The bench also directed the state Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to probe the assets of all the officers including IPS and IAS officers who were posted in the southern district at the relevant point of time.

In May 2018, police opened fire at protestors in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district, after the anti-Sterlite agitation turned violent, leaving 13 persons dead. The protestors were demanding for the closure of the copper smelter unit over pollution concerns.