The violence took place during an ongoing protest against proposed expansion of a copper smelter plant run by Sterlite Corporation in Thoothukudi town.
[6][7][8][9][10] 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.
[21] Sterlite Copper has been facing resistance from the local fishermen's groups in the area ever since the plant was given permission to be established by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in 1994.
[24] An epidemiological study carried out by Tirunelveli Medical College in 2006–07 found an increased prevalence of respiratory diseases and ear, nose and throat (ENT) morbidity in the 5-km radius of Sterlite Industries.
Myalgia (general body pain) is another extensively reported symptom and women were often found to have menstrual disorders, like menorrhagiae and dysmenorrhagiae in the area.
[26] The groundwater iron content in the area of the plant has been found to be 17–20 times the allowable limit, causing additional health problems for the population already experiencing higher than average incidence of respiratory diseases.
[27][28] The 1998 report by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), the levels of selenium, arsenic and lead in treated effluent were higher than specified standards.
In another instance, the NEERI reported water samples from dugwells and borewells around the spot were found to be non-drinkable due to its high chemical content.
[29] A scientific study in 2017, found most of the ground water samples in the area are highly contaminated with heavy metals like arsenic, lead, boron etc.
[33] On 6 July 1997, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board told the company to shut down after a sulphur dioxide gas leak which hospitalized more than 90 people.
[35] The plant was blamed for health issues observed in the area related to gas leakage and residents near-by complained of coughing, wheezing, eye irritation, and miscarriages following the leak.
[35] In June 2019, the Tamil Nadu government reported that there were 84 incidents of gas leaks at Sterlite Copper in the year 2013 alone, to the Madras High Court.
Over 500 people, including many women and schoolchildren, blocked the company gates until they were rounded up and arrested on 14 February 2018.Since then protests have been ongoing, day and night.
[48] Meanwhile, Sterlite moved the Madras High Court for passing prohibitory orders under IPC section 144, as it feared the protest to be organised on 22 May may turn violent.
The petitioner alleged that there was a plan to unleash violence and even "burn down the factory", and said the regulatory order banning assembly of four or more persons could prevent such incidents.
Police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas shells at the crowd after disagreeing with the protesters who wanted to stage a sit-in.
Police tried another attempt to stop the crowd near Third Mile bridge on the Palayamkottai Road and tear gas was used to quell the rioting mob, which continued to regroup.
While the police rules allowed them to use live bullets to stop protests, the gun should be aimed below the waist level and policemen should not shoot to kill.
"[71] In November 2018, the CBI filed cases against police personnel and revenue department officials in Tamil Nadu for the death of the thirteen people killed during the protests.
This comes after the several environmental activists questioned the National Green Tribunal's appointed panel which said that the state government's action to close the plant after protests was illegal.
[95] The next day, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) announced that it would take back 342.22 acres of land that it had given for expansion of the facility.
[82] Many political leaders including M.K.Stalin, Seeman and Anbumani Ramadoss criticized the sealing order, saying that it would not stand up to legal scrutiny since the government had given no reason for shutting down the factory.
He said that he was kidnapped from the railway station and the abductors threatened him to stop working against the sterlite and showed him a newspaper clipping which mention his wife and son had died in a road accident.
[105][106] On 28 October 2018, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board reported that the sulphur-dioxide levels in the air had reduced significantly after the Sterlite plant's closure.
[107] In November 2019, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board reported that the ambient air quality had improved dramatically after the closure of the plant.
It further says: “Here is a case of police indulging in shooting from their hide-outs at the protesters who were far away from them.” The report has singled out the then District Collector N. Venkatesh (now with the National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad) for his “abdication of responsibility, gross negligence and ill-conceived decisions”.
May 23, when SP Mahendran went to Anna Nagar, he faced the fury of a crowd of youths protesting the deaths in police firing the previous day.
Instead of handling the situation sensitively, the SP “took away the pistol from his gunman Stalin” and opened nine rounds of fire, which resulted in the death of a 25-year-old youth and caused serious injuries to a few others.