Opposition politicians in the state of Tamil Nadu have accused the police of committing mass murder against protesters opposed to the expansion of a copper smelting facility in the port city of Thoothukudi. Residents and environmentalists have been protesting for the past three months against plans to double the capacity of the copper plant that they say is contaminating the air and fisheries around the site. A voice could be heard in the background saying: “At least one should die.”MK Stalin, leader of the main Tamil Nadu opposition party, the DMK, said police were guilty of atrocities. Tamil Nadu chief minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, ordered the judicial inquiry into the shootings but defended the police. Tamil Nadu is one of India’s most prosperous and industrialised states but, as elsewhere in the country, environmental regulations are routinely breached and poorly policed.

Source: The Guardian May 23, 2018 13:02 UTC