india

Updated: Jul 07, 2019 22:15 IST

Environmental activist T Mughilan alias Shanmugam - who had shot to limelight in the anti-Sterlite protests - and who was said to be ‘missing’ since February 15 was taken into custody by Central Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) associated with Tamil Nadu police on Saturday night at Katpadi in Vellore district. The activist was later arrested by TN police on charges of sexual assault.

52-year-old Mughilan who has not been seen in public since February 15 was found in Mannargudi - Tirupati train at Tirupati railway station on Saturday evening, said CB-CID sources.

Mughilan was one of the key faces of anti-Sterlite protests after the Thoothukkudi police had opened fire against those agitating for the closure of the Vedanta Group’s Sterlite copper smelter’s closure. In the police firing 13 people had been killed in May 2018 and the incident had created a huge political backlash.

Mughilan was said to have been spotted in Tirupati railway station on Saturday evening, by a childhood friend and is believed to have been subsequently taken into custody by Andhra Pradesh Police who later handed him over to a CB-CID team of TN police.

The case was filed after a complaint was lodged by 30-year-old woman who was actively associated with Mughilan’s protests. Based on the woman’s complaint, Kulithalai All Women’s Police in Karur district have registered a case under IPC sections 417 for cheating, 376 for rape and 4 (H) of women harassment act.