STUDENTS, PEOPLE PROTEST IN CHENNAI AGAINST POLICE FIRING IN THOOTHUKUDI

Students and people, along with various other organisations, held protests against the police firing in Thoothukudi which killed at least 11 protesters who demanded the closure of Sterlite copper plant. The plant allegedly caused health hazards to people living in the surroundings and also caused environmental degradation.

Students staged a roadblock in Anna Salai on Wednesday morning and shouted slogans against the state government. Police bundled them away from the road near Nandanam. Meanwhile, fishermen in Nochikuppam also protested against the killings. Police personnel have been deployed in places where they suspect that people may gather to hold protests.

The prohibitory section 144 order, clamped in Thoothukudi, has now been extended throughout the district till May 25. The district collector has extended the order after the violence and the police firing that followed.