On 22 May 2018, the 100th day of protests against Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, police opened fire on thousands marching to the District Collectorate. Thirteen people were killed over two days, including a 17-year-old student, and internet services were cut in three districts. The state ordered the plant shut on 28 May 2018, the courts have kept it closed, and a judicial commission in 2022 found the firing unprovoked, but only one police officer has been charged.
Key takeaways
- Police fired on anti-Sterlite protesters in Thoothukudi on 22 May 2018 and again on 23 May, killing 13 people; some outlets count 14 including a later death.
- Videos showed a plainclothes policeman firing from the roof of a police van, and a voice saying "At least one should die."
- The Tamil Nadu government ordered the Sterlite Copper plant permanently closed on 28 May 2018. The Madras High Court upheld the closure in 2020 and the Supreme Court refused to reopen it in February 2024 and dismissed Vedanta's review in October 2024.
- The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission found the firing was not in self-defence and held 17 police personnel, the then Collector and three deputy tahsildars responsible.
- The CBI charged one inspector and 101 protesters. Disciplinary action against the Collector, the IG and the DIG was dropped, and in September 2026 the state told the High Court it would not pay the balance compensation the commission recommended.
Background: two decades of pollution complaints
Sterlite Industries, a Vedanta company, set up the copper smelter in the SIPCOT industrial estate at Thoothukudi in the mid-1990s, after a planned plant in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district was halted by local protests Land Conflict Watch. It had a capacity of 4 lakh tonnes of copper a year Down To Earth.
Residents and fishing communities long alleged that the plant polluted air and groundwater. A 1998 report by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was highly critical of the plant, but the same institute gave it a clean chit in 1999 Down To Earth. A 2005 NEERI study, cited later by the Madras High Court, found groundwater near the plant unfit to drink, with arsenic above limits The News Minute.
On 28 September 2010 the Madras High Court ordered the plant shut, but the Supreme Court stayed that order. In April 2013 the Supreme Court set it aside, refused closure and instead ordered Sterlite to pay Rs 100 crore as compensation for pollution Business Today. After a suspected gas leak on 23 March 2013, the pollution board ordered closure again; the National Green Tribunal reversed that in May 2013 Down To Earth.
How the 2018 protest started
On 12 February 2018 about 300 people from Kumareddiyapuram village sat down in Thoothukudi town to oppose Sterlite's plan to build a second smelter. Their arrest helped draw a much larger rally on 24 March 2018, which PARI put at about 2 lakh people PARI. Protesters wanted the existing plant shut as well as the expansion dropped. The protests continued as dharnas, hunger strikes and public meetings Down To Earth.
In April 2018 the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) declined to renew the plant's consent to operate LiveLaw. The smelter had been shut since that month Business Today.
On 20 May, at a peace meeting called by the Superintendent of Police, some groups accepted SAV School grounds as the venue for the 100th-day protest, while village leaders and others wanted to march to the Collectorate. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 were imposed on the evening of 21 May The News Minute.
Timeline
March reaches the Collectorate
Thousands marched to the Collectorate to demand closure. Stone-pelting broke out near the building and police, some in plain clothes, charged and fired. Many injured told reporters there had been no warning The News Minute.
Firing spreads
Police also fired at Third Mile and Threspuram, away from the Collectorate The News Minute. A woman who had not joined the protest was shot dead in Threspuram, her family said The News Minute.
The van video
Tamil channels aired video of policemen climbing onto a van to fire at protesters, with a voice saying "At least one should die." It was not clear who said it The News Minute.
Second day of firing
Police fired again and killed a young man in Anna Nagar. The state appointed retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan to inquire The News Minute. Mobile and broadband internet were suspended in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts MediaNama.
Permanent closure
The government directed the TNPCB to "seal the unit and close the plant permanently" under Section 18(1)(b) of the Water Act The News Minute. Collector Sandeep Nanduri sealed the plant that evening Down To Earth.
CBI probe ordered
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the CBI to "get to the bottom of things". The CBI registered a case in November against unknown police and revenue officials The News Minute.
The dead and the injured
The official toll is 13. The then government said 12 were killed on 22 May, including two women, and one more the next day Down To Earth. The News Minute and PARI count 14, including a person who died of injuries in October 2018 The News Minute PARI. Villagers told Down To Earth in May 2018 they believed 27 had died; that figure was never verified Down To Earth.
Autopsy reports showed 12 of the 13 shot were hit in the head or chest, and half from behind. The youngest, a 17-year-old, was shot in the back of the head Scroll. The commission counted at least 33 others with bullet injuries Down To Earth.
Both accounts
Protesters' account
Protesters say they were marching to submit a petition after 100 days of protest, and that police fired without warning. Families and activists asked why police shot to kill, and one activist said "The firing was to weaken the movement" The News Minute. Reports said police also took aim from rooftops The News Minute. They point to the van video and to autopsies showing head and chest wounds Scroll.
Police and government account
Claim · Police Police headquarters said protesters broke barriers, attacked police, entered the Collectorate and set vehicles on fire after tear gas failed, so the crowd was declared "a lawless crowd" The News Minute. An FIR said a deputy tahsildar ordered the firing The News Minute. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami blamed "anti-social elements" and called the shooting "a natural reaction, it wasn't pre-planned" The News Minute.
Claim · Vedanta Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal called the deaths "unfortunate", offered support to the families and said "separatists" had hijacked the protesters' agenda. He said the smelter had "zero discharge" and he would accept an independent probe The Quint, citing ET.
The internet shutdown
From the evening of 23 May, mobile and broadband internet were cut in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, with voice calls left on. The order, by state official Niranjan Mardi, cited "rumours with half truths". It was Tamil Nadu's first recorded shutdown MediaNama. Service returned in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari on 25 May but stayed off longer in Thoothukudi SFLC.in.
The courts and the closure
On 15 December 2018 the National Green Tribunal set aside the closure, calling the TNPCB's approach "hyper technical", and ordered power restored The News Minute. On 18 February 2019 the Supreme Court set that order aside because the NGT lacked jurisdiction, and sent Vedanta to the High Court LiveLaw.
On 18 August 2020 the Madras High Court dismissed Vedanta's petitions. It found the plant ran for "16 years and 92 days" without valid consent and rejected the claim that closure was a knee-jerk reaction The News Minute.
Economic considerations can have no role to play while deciding the sustainability of a highly polluting industry.
Madras High Court, 18 August 2020 (The News Minute)
On 29 February 2024 the Supreme Court dismissed Vedanta's appeal, citing "the repeated nature of breaches, coupled with the severity of the violations" LiveLaw. On 22 October 2024 it dismissed the review petitions, finding "no error apparent on the face of the record" Scroll PTI via Deccan Herald.
Claim · Vedanta After the 2020 ruling Vedanta said the closure was "only for political reasons" and that "there was never any notice ever given to us for any kind of pollution" Business Today. It has called the plant a national asset meeting 40% of India's copper demand Deccan Herald, and its CEO said the ruling forced India to depend on imports The Quint.
The Aruna Jagadeesan Commission
The commission submitted its final report on 18 May 2022 South First, and it was tabled in the Assembly on 18 October 2022. It said "the totality of the facts and circumstances would not suggest that the police had been acting in exercise of the right of private defence" The News Minute. Its main findings:
- Documented It held 17 police personnel responsible, including IG Shailesh Kumar Yadav, DIG Kapil Kumar C Saratkar and SP P Mahendran, plus Collector N Venkatesh and three deputy tahsildars The News Minute.
- Police fired "from their hide-outs at the protesters who were far away from them". No policeman suffered grave injury except one Scroll.
- One marksman fired 17 rounds at Third Mile and three at Threspuram. The head constable seen on the van fired two rounds while out of uniform. The armoury register was altered to hide ammunition use The News Minute.
- It criticised Palaniswami's statement that he learnt of the firing from television, saying senior officials kept him updated Down To Earth.
- It recommended Rs 50 lakh for each bereaved family and Rs 10 lakh for each injured person The News Minute.
Government's position Chief Minister M K Stalin called the firing a black spot in the state's history and added Rs 5 lakh to the compensation Down To Earth.
The CBI case
The CBI's chargesheets named one police officer, Inspector R Thirumalai, and 101 protesters. Protesters faced 273 cases in all, a lawyer said. The DMK government withdrew 38 cases in May 2021 South First. In December 2023 the Madurai Chief Judicial Magistrate rejected the CBI's report and ordered a fresh probe. In 2024 the High Court said the CBI had "failed miserably" and ordered an asset probe of the accused officials, which the Supreme Court stayed on 2 August 2024 LiveLaw.
Claim · Officers In the Supreme Court, Kapil Sibal argued for the officers that the NHRC had found police were attacked and overpowered by larger numbers LiveLaw.
Where things stand in 2026
In a 2026 affidavit the state said disciplinary action had been dropped against Collector Venkatesh, IG Yadav and DIG Saratkar, and the case against Inspector Thirumalai was pending trial DT Next. Government's position In September 2026 the Advocate General for the TVK-led government said there was no statutory obligation to implement the commission's report in full and indicated the remaining Rs 25 lakh per family would not be paid DT Next.
On 28 September 2026 the High Court dismissed a contempt plea against the CBI Director because a protest petition against the chargesheet is pending before the Madurai CJM, and closed the 2018 PILs UNI. Raja, the policeman seen firing from the van, died on 29 September 2026 DT Next.
The plant remains shut. Vedanta invited bids for it in June 2022 The Quint. In March 2025 the state gave Sterlite 80 days to move expansion machinery to Silvassa; activists want the whole plant dismantled Deccan Herald. About 80% of the equipment had been moved by mid-2025, with the rest awaiting approval, and unions and residents have rallied for reopening Land Conflict Watch. No report of full dismantling was found.
Outcome
- Deaths: 13 officially; some outlets count 14.
- Plant: Permanently closed on 28 May 2018; closure upheld by the High Court (2020) and Supreme Court (2024).
- Inquiry: Commission held 17 police, the Collector and three deputy tahsildars responsible.
- Prosecution: CBI charged one inspector and 101 protesters; trial pending.
- Discipline: Dropped against the Collector, IG and DIG.
- Compensation: Rs 25 lakh per family paid; the state declines the further Rs 25 lakh.
- Internet: Suspended in three districts from 23 May 2018.
Questions people ask
What happened in Thoothukudi on 22 May 2018?
On the 100th day of protests against the Sterlite Copper smelter, thousands marched to the Collectorate. Police opened fire on 22 and 23 May, killing 13 people by the official count.
Why did people protest against Sterlite?
Residents alleged air and groundwater pollution and opposed a second smelter. The Madras High Court later found the plant had run for years without valid consent.
Is the Sterlite plant still closed?
Yes. The Supreme Court refused to reopen it in February 2024 and dismissed Vedanta's review in October 2024. Some machinery was moved to Silvassa in 2025.
What did the Aruna Jagadeesan Commission find?
It found the firing was not in self-defence and held 17 police personnel, the Collector and three deputy tahsildars responsible. It recommended Rs 50 lakh for each bereaved family.
Has anyone been punished for the Thoothukudi firing?
No conviction has been reported. The CBI charged one inspector, whose trial is pending, and disciplinary action against senior officials was dropped.
Sources
- Down To Earth: Tamil Nadu govt orders permanent closure of Sterlite plant in Tuticorin, 28 May 2018
- The News Minute: 'At least one should die': Thoothukudi video exposes cops' intention behind firing?, 23 May 2018
- MediaNama: Tamil Nadu internet shutdown in three districts, May 2018
- SFLC.in: Internet shutdowns tracker, Tamil Nadu 2018
- The Quint: Separatists hijacked Sterlite protesters' agenda, says Vedanta chairman, 28 May 2018
- The News Minute: CBI to probe police firing, orders Madras HC, Aug 2018
- The News Minute: 5 months on, CBI files FIR in Thoothukudi firing, Nov 2018
- The News Minute: NGT orders Sterlite plant to be opened, 15 Dec 2018
- Scroll: Sterlite protestors shot in head, chest, Dec 2018
- LiveLaw: SC sets aside NGT order which allowed reopening of Sterlite plant, 18 Feb 2019
- The News Minute: Remember Thoothukudi: a year later, no justice in sight, 22 May 2019
- PARI: Sterlite rules over Rafale in Thoothukudi polls, 2019
- Business Today: Sterlite to pay compensation for polluting environment, April 2013
- Down To Earth: NGT reverses closure order for Sterlite's Tuticorin plant, June 2013
- Business Today: Madras High Court dismisses plea to reopen Sterlite plant, 18 Aug 2020
- The Quint: 'Utter shock': Sterlite on HC order to keep plant shut, 18 Aug 2020
- The News Minute: Five main reasons why Madras HC sealed Sterlite factory, Aug 2020
- The Quint: Vedanta to sell Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi, 20 June 2022
- Scroll: Firing on anti-Sterlite protestors was unprovoked and indiscriminate, finds panel, Aug 2022
- The News Minute: Aruna Jagadeesan Commission holds 17 cops responsible, 18 Oct 2022
- The News Minute: Thoothukudi snipers violated rules and tampered evidence, says commission, 19 Oct 2022
- Down To Earth: Inquiry report finds police, revenue officials responsible for 13 deaths, Oct 2022
- LiveLaw: 'Serious violations': Supreme Court dismisses Vedanta's plea to reopen Tuticorin unit, 29 Feb 2024
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court stays Madras HC order for asset probe of officials, Aug 2024
- Scroll: Supreme Court rejects Vedanta's review petition against closure of Thoothukudi plant, Nov 2024
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Supreme Court junks review plea by Vedanta, 16 Nov 2024
- Deccan Herald: Sterlite Copper to shift machinery from defunct Thoothukudi plant, 14 Mar 2025
- South First: Seven years on, justice eludes Thoothukudi firing victims, 23 Aug 2025
- Land Conflict Watch: The case of Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi, updated 20 Jan 2026
- DT Next: Madras HC seeks action-taken report from Tamil Nadu government, 1 Sept 2026
- UNI: Madras HC nixes contempt plea against CBI in Thoothukudi firing case, 29 Sept 2026
- DT Next: Cop seen firing at protesters in 2018 dies, 29 Sept 2026