Tamil Nadu Government Continues Crackdown: Lawyer Accused Of Inciting Thoothukudi Violence Arrested

Accused of engineering the anti-Sterlite protests which led to unprecedented violence in Thoothukudi, a lawyer and the state co-ordinator of People’s Right Protection Center - the lawyers wing of radical left organisation Makkal Adhikaram, S Vanchi Nathan has been arrested by Tamil Nadu police.

Two days after the anticipatory bail petition filed by Nathan and his associate Hari Raghavan was dismissed by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, police arrested the duo on Wednesday (20 June) at the Chennai International airport.

As reported by the Indian Express, Nathan was also planning to approach the Supreme Court with an anticipatory bail plea. The High Court which dismissed the bail petition earlier this week has reasoned that since the petitioners had not denied their role as leaders of the movement they cannot escape responsibility and evade police questioning.

Makkal Adhikaram is said to have released a statement yesterday (21 June) condemning Nathan’s arrest.

13 people were killed in the violence as police had to resort to firing to control unruly crowd that tried to take out a procession to the Collectorate marking the hundredth day of their protests demanding closure of Vedanta Resources’ Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi.