Anti-nuke activist booked over blast near Kudankulam plant

The Tamil Nadu police filed a case against anti-nuclear activist SP Uthayakumar and others in connection with Tuesday night`s explosion at Idinthakarai.

Zee Media Bureau

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu police on Wednesday filed a case against anti-nuclear activist SP Uthayakumar and others in connection with Tuesday night`s explosion at Idinthakarai in Tamil Nadu. Six people, including two children, died when a locally-made bomb exploded in a house. Uthayakumar, the head of the anti-nuclear People`s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, his associates Pushparayan, Mukilan and `others` have been booked under different sections of IPC and Explosive Substances Act, top police sources said. They have been booked for offences including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and criminal conspiracy among others, the sources said. PMANE is spearheading the protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tirunelveli. A Home Ministry spokesman said in New Delhi that the country-made bomb went off "accidentally" when some miscreants were making the explosive in their hut at around 1840 hours in Idinagarai Tsunami colony, about 15 km from the nuclear power plant. A senior official of the Department of Atomic Energy said the plant is running fine and is safe. People of Idinthakarai, the hub of protests against KNPP, backed by People`s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, have been agitating for more than two years, demanding its closure. Unit-1 had attained criticality on July 13 this year following protests against the project by anti-nuclear activists in areas around the complex, citing safety reasons. (With Agency inputs)