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Reuters

Twelve of the 13 people killed when police opened fire on a protest against a copper smelter in southern India in May were hit by bullets in the head or chest, and half were shot from behind, autopsy reports show.
Two others died after bullets pierced the sides of their heads, according to the reports produced by forensic medicine experts from several government hospitals that have not been previously published.

The youngest to be killed, 17-year-old J. Snowlin, was shot in the back of the head with the bullet existing through her mouth, the autopsy found.
“The deceased would appear to have died of cardio-pulmonary arrest due to firearm bullet injury to the back of the neck,” forensic medicine experts who examined Snowlin’s body wrote.
Her family said they had not collected the teenager’s autopsy report. “We are continuing to exist, that’s it,” said her mother.
Indian police rules allow the use of live ammunition to quell civil unrest, but stipulate the response should be proportionate and officers should not shoot to kill. Police Standing Orders for Tamil Nadu, the state where the shootings took place, say that, when using firearms, “aim should be kept low, preferably well below the waist level, and directed against the most threatening part of the mob”.

The incident was the deadliest at an environmental protest in India in a decade. A working group of United Nations’ human rights experts in May condemned the “apparent excessive and disproportionate use of lethal force by police”.
Federal police are investigating the shootings, which took place as protesters were marching to the local government headquarters in the port city of Thoothukudi, demanding that a copper smelter controlled by London-headquartered Vedanta Resources be shut for polluting the environment.
No police officers have been arrested or charged in connection with the killings. In a statement following the incident the Tamil Nadu state government, which is responsible for the police, said: “Due to unavoidable circumstances, we had to take action to bring the situation under control.”
The Thoothukudi district administration and state police officials did not respond to emails seeking comments on the autopsy reports. Federal police investigating the deaths did not respond to requests for comment on the autopsy findings.


Vedanta did not respond to a request for comment. The company, which had no involvement in the shootings, has previously expressed regret over the deaths at the protest, which it call “absolutely unfortunate”.
Senior police and government officials who were present on the day previously said they were forced to fire live ammunition as the crowd turned violent and threatened a neighbouring apartment building used by Vedanta employees.
DETAIL OF DEATHS
Among the eight people killed from bullets entering their head or body from behind or the side, 40-year-old Jansi, who like many people in Tamil Nadu goes by just one name, was shot a few hundred metres away from her house in a narrow street close to Thoothukudi’s seafront. She was shot through the ear, the report into her death showed. A bullet went through the forehead of 34-year-old Mani Rajan. “The deceased would appear to have died of penetrating injury to the brain due to the firearm bullet injury to the right side of forehead,” Mani’s autopsy report said.

The dead also included a man in his 50s, six men in their 40s, and three men in their early 20s.
The head of the forensic science department at the Thoothukudi Medical College, where the autopsies were conducted, declined to comment, as did two of the principal examiners.
Authorities in Tamil Nadu ordered the permanent closure of the Vedanta smelter on environmental grounds immediately after the shootings at the May 22 protest. That order was overturned by a ruling from India’s green court on December 15. Vedanta, controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, has always denied damaging the environment.


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India

Autopsies reveal Indian police shot protesters demonstrating against Vedanta copper smelter in head, chest and from behind

Police charge towards protesters during the protests. Photo: AFP

Police try to remove a woman protesting against the construction of a copper smelter by Vedanta Resources from the road, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in this still image from May 23, 2018 video footage. ANI via REUTERS TV ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. NO ACCESS MEDIACORP/BBC Digital/BBC. For Reuters customers only.

Charred vehicles are pictured near a government office, after at least 13 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of plant on environmental grounds in town of Thoothukudi in southern state of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Sudarshan Varadhan - RC1C02B3F860

A bus on fire is seen during a protest against the construction of a copper smelter by Vedanta Resources, in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India in this still image from May 23, 2018 video footage. ANI via REUTERS TV ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. NO ACCESS MEDIACORP/BBC Digital/BBC. For Reuters customers only.

Death toll rises to 11 on second day of protests against Indian copper plant

Police try to remove a woman protesting against the construction of a copper smelter by Vedanta Resources. Photo: Reuters

A demonstrator displays a placard during a protest, organised by All India Democratic Youth Organisation, after at least 10 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of the plant on environmental grounds in Thoothukudi in southern state of Tamil Nadu, in Ahmedabad, India, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Amit Dave

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South Asia

The protesters were demanding that a copper smelter in Tamil Nadu’s port city of Thoothukudi be shut for polluting the environment


Environment

Autopsies reveal Indian police shot protesters demonstrating against Vedanta copper smelter in head, chest and from behind

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The protesters were demanding that a copper smelter in Tamil Nadu’s port city of Thoothukudi be shut for polluting the environment

The protesters were demanding that a copper smelter in Tamil Nadu’s port city of Thoothukudi be shut for polluting the environment