Sterlite firing carried out at behest of an industrialist, says Madras High Court

In May 2018, police opened fire at protestors in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin district, after the anti-Sterlite agitation turned violent, leaving 13 people dead.

File photo of police firing during a massive rally taken out demanding the closure of Sterlite Copper plant in the port town of Thoothukudi. (File | EPS)

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has expressed displeasure over how the CBI investigated the 2018 Tuticorin police firing against anti-Sterlite protestors in which 13 people were killed.

Observing that the investigation was not done fairly, the court further observed 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 which was previously 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.