Over a month after the unbridled violence during an anti-Sterlite protest in Tuticorin that claimed 13 lives, some locals involved in the incidents have claimed they were “brainwashed” by a Left outfit to picket the district collectorate.
Hundreds of protesters had gone on the rampage on May 22, storming the collectorate, setting buildings and vehicles ablaze, and prompting police action that triggered outrage and forced the Tamil Nadu government to close the copper smelter unit.