Chennai: With both Union Minister of State L Murugan and BJP State president K Annamalai demanding NIA probe into the petrol bomb attack on the party’s Tamilnadu headquarters ‘Kamalalayam’ in the city, speculations are rife that whether NIA or CBI investigation would be ordered by the Centre.
Alleging that law and order situation in the State had deteriorated after the DMK came to power in May last year, Annamalai, talking to reporters after inspecting the incident spot, refused to accept the confession given by the arrested person that the incident was a fall out of NEET issue.
Stating that the accused was a history-sheeter, he doubted whether the arrested person knows anything about NEET.
Alleging that the attack took place at somebody’s instigation, Annamalai said the conspirators behind this incident must be found out and said the probe into the petrolo bomb attack should be handed over to the NIA.
Annamalai also claimed the ruling DMK was tapping his phone and that of his party leaders and demanded an independent High Court monitored probe into it.
He also said that after the DMK government came to power it had downgraded his security from Y-category to X-category.
‘A lone gunman is giving me protection. But I am not bothered about it,’ he said and claimed that police pickets posted at both the ends of the street where the BJP office was situated were also removed.
Meanwhile, a police press release said the 38-year-old Vinod alias Karukka Vinodh, who has been arrested soon after the incident, admitted that he had hurled three bottles filled with petrol enraged over BJP’s stand on NEET issue.
The release, citing preliminary investigations, said the accused had not committed the crime out of communal or political reasons and that he had done it under the influence of alcohol.
It was also confirmed during investigation that the accused has the mentality of indulging in such acts.
Vinodh was a known history-sheeter and 14 cases, including four attempt to murder cases, were pending against him. Earlier, he was arrested in connection with the petrol bomb attack on a TASMAC shop in 2015 at Mambalam and at the entrance of the Teyanmpet police station in 2017.
Vinodh was later produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. Meanwhile, the main Opposition AIADMK strongly condemned the petrol bomb attack on the BJP office and alleged that the incident showed that the law and order stiuation has been deteriorating in the State.
In a statement here, AIADMK coordinator and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said the BJP had been stating that the incident was a handiwork of the ruling DMK.
He said the State government has a duty to thoroughly probe the incident and bring the culprits to book, besides ensuring that such incidents did not recur in future.
Claiming that the ruling DMK which had handled the local body elections during its rule in the past, has been adopting a similar attitude this year, Panneerselvam referred to the violence during polling and counting in the 2006 local body elections.
But people were thinking that, this time even before the polling day (19 February), the DMK has started its atrocities, he claimed. BJP was a former ally of the AIADMK and was contesting the ordinary elections to urban local bodies on its own.
Observing that criticisms against the government by the opposition and the people are democratic traditions, he said freedom of speech and expression was the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution and those in power should govern the state per the Constitution.
‘But people are thinking that that those in power are functioning in violation of this and the proof for it was the petrol bomb attack on the BJP office’, Panneerselvam said and demanded the arrest of all those involved in the incident. AIADMK joint coordinator and former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami has also condemned the incident.