Young tippler hurls Molotov cocktail at Tasmac outlet, held in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Following a clash with his second wife, who allegedly threatened to send him to jail, a 22-year-old tippler threw a Molotov cocktail at a Tasmac outlet at Vellikuppampalayam near Sirumugai on Monday evening and got himself arrested by police.
K Karthik, of Anaipallipudur near Sirumugai, a construction worker, fought with his second wife Rajasulochana, 22, in a drunken state on Monday afternoon.
She immediately lodged a complaint with the Sirumugai police against her husband under the Domestic Violence Act. Police contacted Karthik over the phone at 5pm when he was at the Tasmac outlet at Vellikuppampalayam. Police asked him to visit the station for an inquiry.
Karthik had bought a liquor bottle for ₹170 and was consuming it at the outlet when he received the call. Meanwhile, a fellow tippler informed Karthik that he paid ₹130 for the same amount of liquor. Irked, Karthik picked up a quarrel with the staff of the Tasmac outlet.
In a fit of rage, he took two empty bottles from Tasmac premises and filled them with petrol from his motorcycle. Suddenly, he poured petrol on the entrance of the Tasmac shop and set it on fire. He also pelted a Molotov cocktail inside the shop. However, the staff at the outlet escaped and put out the fire.
More than two cases of liquor and ₹1,000 in cash were gutted. The Sirumugai police registered a case against Karthik and arrested him on Monday night. He will be remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.
On inquiry, Karthik said he threw the Molotov cocktail to get himself arrested instead of detained based on his second wife's complaint.