Another crackdown leaves Thoothukudi tense

Eleven days after police firing on protesters demanding the closure of a Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi claimed the lives of 13 people, residents say those suspected of involvement in the demonstrations are being targeted in a wave of arrests.

More than 10 people have been picked up by the police in raids over the last four days in and around the port city of Thoothukudi, says lawyer E Athisayakumar. Police confirmed that arrests were taking place.

The crackdown highlights the tensions that continue to fester despite the Tamil Nadu government’s order to permanently shut down the smelter on environmental grounds and in the aftermath of the deadly protests — a move that sources say the company may appeal.

The district administration says the area is returning to normality, with shops and businesses reopening and buses running. But some residents say deep divisions remain in the city and surrounding villages between the protesters, the authorities and Vedanta employees.

“We are scared that the police will randomly drop by and pick us up without explanations,” says 44-year-old S Kasirajan.

The Chief Minister’s Office and the Shead tate police chief did not respond to emails seeking comment on the total number of people detained, or whether the authorities planned to arrest more people.

Lawyers said those arrested were accused of breaching prohibitory orders issued in the run-up to the May 22 demonstration.

Police said more than 80 generic complaints, which did not name the accused, had been filed by residents at a local police station — allowing them to arrest anyone they suspected of involvement in what they described as “anti-social activities”.

Early-morning raids

More than 150 people held in the days following the violence have been bailed by the courts, said AWD Thilak, the head of the Thoothukudi Bar Association.

Among those arrested in recent days were three men picked up in a village near Thoothukudi early on Thursday for violating prohibitory orders imposed on May 22, according to police and the men’s families. P Parthiban, a 27-year old welder from the village Meelavitaan, was picked up from his home at 3.15 am, a family member said.

T Balasingh, 30, who runs a shop in the village, was dragged by his collar to a jeep parked outside after police broke into his house, his mother T Jayaleela said. None of the 15-20 policemen were in uniform, family members of both men said.

“He intimidated us and asked us to leave immediately, and said he was going to pick up 10 more people from our village,” she said.

Inspector M Hariharan confirmed the incident, saying he knew the people in his district who had broken the law.

The State government has announced a probe into what was India’s deadliest environmental protest in more than a decade, and the Union home ministry has requested a report.

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