Protest in Lanka against Tuticorin police firing

A demonstration against the deadly police firing in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu was today held in front of the Indian High Commission here, condemning the incident that left 13 people dead.

On May 22, police had opened fire on the protestors agitating against the expansion of the Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin, killing 13 people, including two women. The protestors were demanding closure of Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns.

Holding placards, condemning the police brutality, the group members "Justice for Thoothukudi" staged demonstration opposite the Indian High Commission here.

"We believe that the recent massacre of Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) protestors - specifically the targeting of leftist organisers - was an abhorrent instance of state terror and we condemn every level of the Indian government for allowing this to occur," they said in a statement.

Hailing the Tamil Nadu government for shutting down the plant, the statement said that the company had left a trail of bodies and two decades worth of environmental degradation.

A similar protest was held in Jaffna on May 25.