Under fire over police firing against protesters demanding closure of the Sterlite plant in Tuticorin, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday appointed a one-person Commission of Inquiry headed by a retired judge of the Madras High Court to probe the violence.
The inquiry will cover the “law and order incidents following the siege of the District Collectorate by thousands of persons violating prohibitory orders,” an official release here said.
Appointing retired Judge Aruna Jagadeesan for the task, the government said she would submit her report to the government. However, the time-frame for submitting the report has not been specified.
The violence during a protest, seeking permanent closure of Vedanta group’s Sterlite Copper plant over alleged pollution issues also saw several dozens of men and women sustaining injuries which includes police personnel as well.
According to the Tuticorin police, eight men and two women were killed in the violence.
Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. The Tamil Nadu government has come in for sharp criticism for opening fire on protesters with DMK leader MK Stalin tweeting a photo of what appears to be a cop in plain clothes pointing his gun at the protesters with the title, “Mass Murder of Innocent People”