Thread by @project_polis

In May 2018, Tamil Nadu's coastal town, Toothkundi, witnessed the state police massacre 16 civilians when thousands protested against Sterlite Industries, a copper company known to cause years of severe environmental pollution and human disease.

These are the people we lost:

1. Antony Selvaraj, 46, a resident of Velankanni Nagar, worked for a private shipping company. His father Stalin said that Anthony was on his way home to eat lunch when he was killed. Anthony leaves behind a wife and a teenage son and daughter.

2. Snowlin was the youngest victim. She participated in the rally with her friends and family, which included young children. She was shot through the mouth as she was shouting slogans against Sterlite. She was 17.

3. Jhansi, 47, a homemaker, was returning home after taking some fish curry she had cooked to her daughter’s house in the neighboring street when she was hit in the head by a police bullet. Witnesses say the police wrapped her in a banner and threw her in the van.

4. P Tamilarasan, 42, a member of the Revolutionary Students and Youth Front, was one of the people the police are alleged to have targeted. He had decided not to marry and devote his life to working on public issues. He had been involved in anti-Sterlite protests since 1996.

5. Karthik, 20, was a student of history at Kamraj College in Thoothukudi. His brother Maharaj says Karthik was ambitious and was planning to study abroad. He was shot in the head. He was shot on his left forehead as he was helping the injured.

6. S Maniraj was 34 and had been recently married. He is survived by his then pregnant wife, Anusuya.

7. Selvasekhar, 42, of Sawyerpuram died in the Tuticorin Government Hospital after police beatings. Reports say they attacked him with lathis and stomped on his back, chest, and head when he was waiting at a bus stop. Selvasekhar leaves behind two sisters and his widowed mother.

8. Shanmugham, 38, of Teachers Colony, left home to withdraw cash from an ATM near the collectorate. He did not participate in the protests, he was shot and killed.

9. Jayaraman, 45, of Usilampatti was a member of the Makkal Athikaram. His death has been widely reported as a possible targeted killing. Jayaraman and his wife have a daughter. He was shot in the head—between his right ear and eye—and died at the hospital.

10. K Glaston, 40, of Lourdhammalpuram. Glaston was shot and dragged away on the road even as the flesh came off his legs. He was a fisherman and is survived by his wife and two teenage children.

11. Ranjithkumar, 23, was shot in the head. His father, Bhaskar, said Ranjith donated blood often and wanted to join the army. Officials demanded that the family sign a statement saying that he died from lathi charge injuries and not due to police firing, but they refused.

12. K Kandiah, 55, is survived by his wife Selvarathnam and mentally disabled son Jagan who doesn’t understand that his father is no more. Kandiah was a daily wage laborer who worked in construction. He was shot in the chest.

13. Kaliappan, 22, was shot by the police on the second day with a rubber bullet in his spine. He was on his way to meet his employer. There are videos showing policemen saying, “Stop acting,” and, “Let him die,” as he lay on the ground during the last moments of his life.

14. Valiammal, 63, died after a bus she was traveling in was set on fire.

15. Bharath, 35, died in the Palaymkottai prison. He had been brutally beaten up by the police who claim his death was a suicide.

16. Justin Selvamithis, 29, was on his way to lunch at his brother’s place in Thoothukudi when he fell prey to police brutality. He fell into a coma after the beatings fractured his skull. After nearly seven months of physical and mental suffering, he died on October 15th.

Read about the incident here.

Archive | “Don’t resist, we can kill you”—A Massacre in Thoothukudi

thepolisproject.com/dont-resist-we…