Thu May 22 13:19:37 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Thoothukudi Remembers Sterlite Firing Victims on 7th Anniversary**
**Thoothukudi, India – May 22, 2025:** Today marked the seventh anniversary of the tragic police firing on protestors opposing the Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. Remembrance events were held across the district to honor the 13 lives lost during the 2018 incident.
Members of various political parties and anti-Sterlite movement organizations gathered to pay floral tributes to the victims. The 2018 protest, which called for the closure of the Sterlite plant due to environmental concerns, ended in violence when police opened fire on rally participants. The incident resulted in 13 deaths and numerous injuries, sparking widespread outrage and eventually leading to the state government’s order to shut down the plant, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Thoothukudi Corporation Mayor Jegan Periyasamy led a remembrance event, with members of the DMK party also paying their respects. The CPI(M) held a memorial event led by District Secretary K.P. Arumugam. Representatives of the Anti-Sterlite Thoothukudi District People Federation visited gravesites, and remembrance events were held in several other locations throughout the district.
Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi posted a message on social media platform X, condemning the events of the day seven years ago. She called it a “dark day” when protestors were “shot down to protect corporate interests” under the previous AIADMK government. She stated, “The wounds left by the bullets that shot them still remain in our hearts and will never be forgotten.”
The Sterlite plant remains closed, and the anniversary serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for environmental justice and accountability in the region.
First Piper 