The report submitted by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry on the Thoothukudi firing in which 13 people were killed and more than 100 injured on May 22, 2018, was tabled in Tamilnadu Assembly today.
According to the report, the lack of coordination between District Collector and policemen was cited as the reason for the incident. Condemning the dastardly act, the anel suggested strict action on 17 police officers.
The commission was constituted by the then AIADMK government to inquire into the details of the police firing which resulted in the killing of civilians who were protesting against industrial pollution in the city, allegedly caused by the Vedantaās Sterliteās copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi. The report of the commission was handed over to Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the Chennai Secretariat on May 18 by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, a former Madras High Court judge. Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu was also present
The commission, which has had two extensions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, took four years to complete its inquiry. However, it had submitted an interim report to the government in May 2021 in which it had identified the injured victims and those who had lost employment opportunities because of police interrogations and recommended the government to provide adequate compensation to them.