Tamil Nadu government submits its report to the Home Ministry on Thoothukudi violence

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday submitted its report to the Home Ministry on Thoothukudi violence. The death toll from police firing at Tuticorin on Thursday went up to 13, even as cases were registered against Opposition leaders, including DMK's M K Stalin and actor-politician Kamal Haasan for defying probibitory orders.

Over 100 people were arrested for protesting police firing on Tuesday and Wednesday in the port city that left 13 dead.

Earlier on Friday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi and other Opposition members in Tamil Nadu were detained in Chennai during a dawn-to-dusk shutdown to condemn the police firing on anti-Sterlite protestors in Thoothukudi, ANI reported.

Security was stepped up across Thoothukudi city, and around 20,000 security personnel were deployed in sensitive areas, The New Indian Express reported.

Earlier, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had issued an interim stay on the expansion of the plant. In April, the pollution control board had rejected the Vedanta-owned smelter's application to renew its licence to operate beyond March 31.