Indian activist critical of killings at smelter protest goes missing
S Mugilan disappeared after releasing video footage showing police had escalated the situation
New Dehli — An Indian activist who released a video critical of the police shooting of protesters at Vedanta’s south Indian copper smelter in May, which killed 13 and injured many others, has been missing for 10 days, a lawyer and fellow activists said. S Mugilan held a media conference in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, on February 15 where he released an analysis of publicly available video footage that he said showed the police had escalated the situation, leading to unnecessary deaths. Twelve of the 13 protesters who were killed when police opened fire on the demonstration were hit by bullets in the head or chest, and half of those were shot from behind, Reuters reported in December, citing autopsy reports. Reuters was not able to independently verify his allegations. The office of the Tamil Nadu police chief did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request seeking comment on Mugilan’s allegations. Mugilan has not been heard from since the day of the media conferenc...
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