Thoothukudi massacre (also known as the Thoothukudi police firing, the Anti Sterlite protest firing and so on) denotes events that took place on 22 and 23 May 2018 in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India. The violence took place during an ongoing protest against proposed expansion of a copper smelter plant run by Sterlite Corporation in Thoothukudi town. Police opened fire on the protesters, killed 13 people and left 102 injured. Several policemen were also injured during the protests. On 22 May morning, the 100th day of the anti-Sterlite protests, thousands of people marched towards the Thoothukudi Collectorate, against legal prohibitory orders passed by the district administration. The agitated protesters overpowered police, started pelting stones and torched vehicles. Police opened fire killing 12 persons on 22 May, at various places in Thoothukudi Town and as the protest continued, one more person was shot dead on 23 May. In a related incident, a woman was killed when miscreants, during Anti Sterlite protests torched a bus on 25 May at Srivaikuntam. Another man died after 5 months of being in coma in October 2018, after getting injured in lathi-charge by police. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November 2018, registered cases on several unidentified police personnel and revenue department officials of Tamil Nadu for the death of the 14 protesters, including cases of criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy. The United nations condemned the firing by the police as excessive and disproportionate. On 19 August 2022, The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry recommended Tamil Nadu government to take action against top police officials for “excessive lethal force” by police on the protestors. (en)
Thoothukudi massacre (also known as the Thoothukudi police firing, the Anti Sterlite protest firing and so on) denotes events that took place on 22 and 23 May 2018 in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India. The violence took place during an ongoing protest against proposed expansion of a copper smelter plant run by Sterlite Corporation in Thoothukudi town. Police opened fire on the protesters, killed 13 people and left 102 injured. Several policemen were also injured during the protests. (en)