A repeat offender, who was allegedly drunk, threw a petrol bomb in front of the Raj Bhavan, the residence of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, at 3 pm on Wednesday afternoon. The police personnel posted at Raj Bhavan chased and apprehended the suspect identified as M. Vinod (42), alias Karukka Vinod of Teynampet.
Prem Anand Sinha, additional commissioner of police, told the media, “Near the Raj Bhavan main entrance, a man hurled a Molotov cocktail just opposite the state highway research centre. Security personnel nabbed him and seized four more bottles of the cocktail from him.”
When interrogated, Vinod reportedly told police that he was not happy that the Governor had refused to pardon the convicts and also because of the rising suicides in the state because of NEET. A statement from Raj Bhavan on this incident said, “After the first petrol bomb was hurled at the main entrance of gate-1 of Raj Bhavan, it burst with a huge sound and burnt the entrance. The security personnel rushed to capture the miscreants and when they attempted to subdue the attacker, another petrol bomb was hurled which resulted in severe damage to the main entrance. Somehow, one of the assailants was overpowered by the security personnel.”
The statement also reiterated that this was not the first time that Governor Ravi had been subjected to attacks in Tamil Nadu. It added, “On April 18, 2022, the Governor of Tamil Nadu was physically attacked with sticks and stones while he was on his way to attend a scheduled function at the Dharmapuram Adhinam. A complaint was lodged by Raj Bhavan, but the FIR was not registered and no action was taken against the assailants. A copy of the complaint filed today has been enclosed herewith.”
Meanwhile, TN BJP leader K. Annamalai posted on X, “Petrol bombs were hurled at Raj Bhavan today, reflects the true law and order situation in Tamil Nadu. While DMK is busy diverting the attention of people to insignificant matters of interest, criminals have taken the streets. Incidentally, it is the same person who attacked @BJP4TamilNadu Headquarters in Chennai in Feb 2022 is held responsible for the attack on Raj Bhavan today.
These continuous attacks only leave 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.”
“The state’s highly guarded Raj Bhavan is not safe. The incident occurring just a day before the President’s arrival shows that law and order in TN is at its worst,” wrote AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami on X. According to police, Vinod had also been involved in throwing petrol bombs in 2022 at the BJP headquarters; in 2015 at a Tasmac shop; and in 2017 in front of the Teynampet police station.