DMDK women's wing chief pickets Sterlite unit; held

DMDK women's wing leader Premalatha Vijayakanth and around 200 party workers were arrested when they attempted to picket the Sterlite's copper smelter unit here today demanding its closure, police said.

Her brother and youth wing leader of the party L K Sutheesh was among the arrested, they said.

Premalatha, wife of DMDK founder leader Vijayakanth, was leading the agitation against Sterlite alleging that it was causing ground water pollution.

The residents in and around the plant have been holding demonstrations and fast over the last 50 days demanding the closure of the factory citing environmental concerns.

Various political parties such as DMK and actor Kamal Hassan's Makkal Neethi Mayyam have also taken part in the anti-Sterlite protest.

The company has rejected the allegation, saying there was no violation of pollution control norms.

On April 4, the Madras High Court had directed the police to provide security for the plant in the wake of the agitation.