Thoothukudi violence official figures: Over 200 injured, 9 maimed for life
Over a month after the tragic police shooting in Thoothukudi that snatched away the lives of 13 civilians, the official numbers of those injured have been announced by the district administration.
According to a report in the Times of India, official figures state that May 22 and the following day saw a total of 217 people getting injured in the violence. Nine have been maimed for life. Apart from the 13 who had died over the two days, one man, Bharathi, arrested and given parole during the investigation had committed suicide and one woman Valiammal had succumbed burn injuries when the government bus she was travelling in was burnt days after the agitations.
District collector Sandeep Nanduri announced that 118 of the injured were civilians while the Superintendent of Police stated 99 were police personnel.
While 75 persons were treated for minor injuries, 43 of them had been given treatment for serious injuries. The Collector also said that nine of them were left with permanent disabilities of some kind.
The government had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for those seriously injured and Rs 1.5 lakh for those with minor injuries.
The Collector reportedly said, “Compensation (₹5 lakh each) has been given to all those who had suffered severe injuries. Some of them (with minor injuries) are coming back and asking for the compensation. We are immediately processing it.”
While media reports had initially shown that civilian, Princeton, had to have his right leg amputated, the Collector said medical reports are awaited for those who were left with permanent disabilities.
On May 22, the 100th day of the anti-Sterlite agitations in the district, things turned violent even as police gunned down civilians as protestors attempted to lay siege to the district Collectorate.
The district administration had initially announced that 83 had suffered minor injuries and 19 had suffered serious injuries. It was also stated that 24 police personnel had been injured.