The Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to submit video clips and other documentary evidence related to protests against the Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi on May 22. Thirteen protestors were killed in firing by security personnel during the agitation.

Justices CT Selvam and AM Basheer Ahmed asked the government to submit details of the intelligence report on the agitation on July 18.

The court was hearing a petition filed by lawyer AWD Tilak, who had sought a copy of the prohibitory orders issued for parts of the coastal town on May 22. The protest had been peaceful for 99 days before that, he said, and the district collector was not in town on May 22. The petitioner claimed that residents of Thoothukudi were put to much hardship, and people were detained, The Hindu reported. Multiple cases are being filed against individuals, he added.

Six people who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence have been booked under the National Security Act.

In an earlier hearing, the High Court had asked the Tamil Nadu government why it could not hand over the inquiry into the police firing to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

For more than two decades, activists in Thoothukudi have accused Sterlite of contaminating the region’s air and water resources, causing breathing disorders, skin diseases, heart conditions and cancer among the residents. Large-scale protests began in Thoothukudi in February, and May 22 was the 100th day of the agitation.