Two petrol bombs were hurled at the BJP’s Coimbatore office in the early hours of Wednesday by members of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK). The attack came in the wake of the row over comments on BJP leader H. Raja’s Facebook page denigrating social reformer Periyar. Three TPDK functionaries were held in connection with the incident. BJP leaders condemned the attack.
P. Balan, 37, alias Gopal of Cheran Nagar near Kavundampalayam, and M. Jeevanantham, 30, alias Jeeva, were arrested while B. Gowtham, 28, of Neelikonampalayam, surrendered at the Saibaba Colony police station following the arrest of the two. Jeevanantham is the urban district organising secretary of the TPDK.
Police said that two petrol bombs were thrown at the two-storeyed building that houses the party office on VKK Menon Road, near Gandhipuram, around 3.20 a.m. The party office is on the first floor. While one of the bottles exploded on the sunshade of the ground floor, the second one hit the name board of a travel agency functioning on the ground floor and fell on the road. It exploded close to a two-wheeler and an autorickshaw parked in front of the building. Police said there was no damage due to the attack.
Surveillance images
Visuals captured by two surveillance cameras of the building showed two men hurling petrol bombs at the office and a third person accompanying them. It also showed a policeman on sentry duty at the office chasing the attackers. The policeman had seen three persons running away after the attack.
The accused were arrested under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the IPC. Police have seized a two-wheeler used by the trio for attack, which they had hired from a mechanic.
The attack took place when at least three persons, including the policeman, were in and around the building. G. Muthukumar, an autorickshaw driver who was sleeping at the party office, said that he woke up hearing an explosion. “I immediately took some water from the bathroom and poured it on the fire that had started on the sunshade,” said Mr. Muthukumar.
TPDK general secretary K. Ramakrishnan contended that Mr. Raja’s remarks on Periyar were scathing enough to hurt the sentiments of even the common man and the same might have incited the three functionaries. “TPDK as an organisation does not encourage such acts of violence. We will render all legal aid to the three men and advise them to abstain from such acts after their release,” he said.
