Coimbatore:
Police are on the lookout for the miscreants, who tried to torch a car and a scooter parked at the house of a Hindu Munnani leader at Kattoor in Mettupalayam on Friday.
House owner P Dhanabal of Perumal Layout at Kattoor was working as a manager in a petrol bunk, police sources said. “He was the Mettupalayam area vice-president of Hindu Munnani. The house was occupied by Dhanabal, his wife Nalini, his mother-in-law Thenmozhi and two children at the time of the incident. He had returned home from work around 12.45am on Friday and had parked his scooter on the portico, near his car. Thenmozhi had noticed the charred car cover around on Friday morning. She alerted Dhanabal, who informed Mettupalayam police,” a police officer said.
“Apart from the car cover, a part of the scooter was also found damaged. Though the miscreants tried to set the car and scooter on fire, their efforts went in vain,” the officer told TOI.
Forensic experts from Coimbatore reached the spot and collected evidence from the spot, including matchsticks.
Mettupalayam police have registered a case under Section 436 of the Indian Penal Code.
Police superintendent Pa Moorthy said five special teams have been formed to nab the culprits.
Meanwhile, police sources told TOI that Dhanabal had previous enmity with some of the staff at the petrol bunk. Police are planning to interrogate them.