Govt-guv row heats up as petrol bomb hurled at Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: A petrol bomb was hurled at Tamil Nadu’s Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, police said, adding that the accused was arrested.

A senior police official, who did not wish to be named, said the accused is a habitual offender who had earlier thrown petrol bombs in the BJP’s office here last February and a police station. “He was drunk and threw the petrol bomb from diagonally opposite the Raj Bhavan,” the officer said. “His motive is not clear from the way he is responding to the interrogation so far.”

The accused has been identified as a 40-year-old “habitual offender” named ‘Karukka’ Vinod.

An official of the Raj Bhavan not wishing to be named however said, “Two petrol bombs were hurled in front of gate 1 which is used by the Governor.” The official said, “The Governor was inside his office at that time. No one was injured. Two barricades and plants were damaged.”

Prem Anand Sinha, Greater Chennai Additional Commissioner of Police, said the accused threw a bottle which was filled with petrol by lighting it. “An alert security personnel spotted him looking suspicious and before they could catch him, he threw one of the bottles which landed near the barricades placed in front of the main gate,” Sinha said. “He was arrested and kept in the police station. An Inquiry is going on.”

He was carrying four bottles filled with petrol, said a statement from Chennai police commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore. He has 14 offences against him. “Due to the high vigil of the security personnel, besides deployment of adequate security there, his attempt has been nullified,” the Chennai Commissioner said.

The accused recently came out of jail after being imprisoned for two years.. “As of now the security is foolproof in front of the Raj Bhavan and surrounding areas,” said Sinha.

The incident comes ahead of the visit of President Droupadi Murmu to Chennai on October 26. She would stay at the Raj Bhavan before attending an event in the Indian Maritime University on the outskirts of Chennai.

The opposition parties slammed the DMK government for a security lapse.

BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai said that these incidents reflect the state of law and order in Tamil Nadu. “While DMK is busy diverting the attention of people to insignificant matters of interest, criminals have taken the streets,” Annamalai posted on X. “These continuous attack only leaves one to think that the DMK government is sponsoring these attacks. Thiru @mkstalin will now be preparing for the next diversion, as he always does.”

T Sengottaiyan, deputy secretary to the Governor, in a letter informed the Chennai police commissioner about threats to the Governor’s life from DMK leaders and workers, citing attack on his convoy with stones and sticks last April while he was on his way to attend a function at the Dharmapuram Adhinam. He said police did not register FIRs in such cases. “Today’s brazen bomb attacks on the Raj Bhavan is a consequence of it,” he said.

The DMK did not react to the incident. However a senior party leader on condition of anonymity blamed the BJP. “They are deliberately creating law and order problems. The investigation will reveal the truth,” the leader said.