Indian Police Face Fury Over Shooting Deaths Of 10 Protesters

Outrage swelled Wednesday over the deaths of 10 protesters at a rally over a copper plant in southern India, after police opened fire on demonstrators in what critics termed "mass murder".

Chennai, India, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd May, 2018 ) :Outrage swelled Wednesday over the deaths of 10 protesters at a rally over a copper plant in southern India, after police opened fire on demonstrators in what critics termed "mass murder".

Violence erupted Tuesday in Tamil Nadu state at a long-running demonstration demanding the closure of the smelting plant owned by British mining giant Vedanta Resources which residents say is causing environmental damage.

The state's chief minister has ordered a judicial inquiry into the shootings but the move failed to stem rising anger over the clashes, which also left about 80 wounded. M.K. Stalin, leader of the main Tamil Nadu opposition party the DMK, said police were guilty of "atrocities".

"Mass Murder of Innocent People," he tweeted Wednesday. "Who ordered the police firing on protestors? Why were automatic weapons used to disperse the crowd and under what law is this permitted?" A video of a police officer on top of a bus and pointing an assault rifle at crowds has fuelled fresh anger.

Rahul Gandhi, the national leader of the opposition Congress party, has called the deaths "a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism". "These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice," he said. Police said Tuesday that 12 people had died but later revised the toll in the port city of Tuticorin.