49 booked for protests against Supreme Court’s decision to allow operation of Sterlite Copper’s oxygen plant

The police have registered cases against 49 persons for staging a protest against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the operation of Sterlite Copper’s oxygen plant.

The protesters organised a sit-in in Pandaarampatti on Tuesday. After the police, led by Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar, and revenue officials told them that an agitation would not be allowed during the pandemic, they dispersed.

On Wednesday, personnel attached to the Thoothukudi SIPCOT police station registered a case against protest coordinators Vasanthi, Aruna Devi and 28 other women from Pandaarampatti under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987, the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, and Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 269 (unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) of the IPC.

A case was also booked against 19 others from Puthu Theru for staging an agitation on Tuesday night.