Tuticorin Tragedy: Budding Lawyer Tagged Along With Cousin to Protest Site, Was Shot in Head

Tuticorin: Residing in Tuticorin's CGE colony, a serene tree-lined neighbourhood that has rarely seen loud automobiles pass by, 20-year-old Karthik lived with his parents and siblings.

On Tuesday, tragedy struck the family as the second-year BBA student was shot by the police after he took part in the protests against the Sterlite Copper plant.

Friendly and energetic, Karthik was one of the most popular students in his college and that’s how his family remembers their dear one.

Maharaj, Karthik’s elder brother, told News18 that his brother’s aim was to become a lawyer. “From the time he began his studies, Karthik had a vision of becoming a lawyer. He was well-spoken and was working hard towards achieving his goal. He wanted to study abroad to pursue his dreams. He wanted to earn more and take care of our family. He was, in fact, planning to apply for a passport this month,” said Maharaj.

Karthik belonged to a lower middle-class family. His father worked really hard as a labourer to make ends meet. So what really happened on that fateful day?

The family says Karthik participated on the 100th day of protest as he didn’t have college and hadn’t really taken part throughout the struggle. “Karthik was not actively participating in the protests but used to tag along with his friends. On the 100th day of protest, he went with his cousin and they were not instigated by anybody. They willingly went to participate. When his cousin looked the other way, he was shot right in the head. We are not sure if he died on the spot.”

The family blames the police officials for opening fire at protesters without warning. “Protesters were not warned about the firing and it just happened. Usually, the police should shoot a person below the knee but my brother was shot right in the head,” said Maharaj.

Karthik’s mother sobs uncontrollably, even though it has been two days since her son’s death. The rest of the family is too shocked to react.

The family feels justice would be served when the Sterlite plant "shuts down for good".