Home » Tamil Nadu » Hours After Nia Raids Petrol Bombs Hurled At Two Places In Coimbatore Including Bjp District Office Probe Underway

Hours after NIA raids, petrol bombs hurled at two places in Coimbatore including BJP district office, probe underway

Vehicles belonging to BJP, Hindu Munnani workers were damaged due to stone-pelting in an area under the jurisdiction of the Coimbatore rural police.

ByShilpa Nair

Published Sep 23, 2022 | 12:11 PM ⚊UpdatedSep 23, 2022 | 1:16 PM

Image of the petrol bomb that was hurled at the district office of the BJP in Coimbatore. (Supplied)

Tension prevailed in Coimbatore on 22 September, Thursday, after two petrol bomb attacks were reported in the city. The places targeted by the unknown miscreants were the district headquarters of the BJP located at VKK Menon Road and a textile shop on Oppanakara street. Fortunately, in both instances, the petrol bombs failed to catch fire.

Importantly, these attacks came just hours after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) swooped down on leaders belonging to the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), as part of its “largest-ever investigation process till now”. Around 45 leaders from the two organisations were officially arrested by the NIA and 93 locations across the country were raided.

According to the Coimbatore police, the Molotov cocktail was hurled at the textile shop at 8.15 pm by two men who came on a bike. The petrol bomb attack on the BJP office happened around 8.30 pm. Both locations are separated by a distance of three-four kilometres.

As far as the attack on the BJP office is concerned, CCTV visuals showed a man throwing the petrol bomb from the opposite side of the road and speeding away from the spot. The bottle fell a few meters away from the office.

Speaking to South First, a top official said that they are examining the two CCTV footage retrieved from the locations where the petrol bombs were hurled. However, the official said that at the moment, they are unable to come to a conclusion of whether the same people were responsible for both the incidents.

“The police have called in a few persons for inquiry and an investigation is underway,” the official added. Arrests are yet to be made in connection with the cases.

Stone-pelting incidents too

Apart from the petrol bomb attacks, stones were also pelted at a government bus in Kuniyamuthur by an unknown man. The Coimbatore police are investigating this case too.

Similarly, four vehicles — two autorickshaws and two cars — were damaged by unidentified men near Kumaran Nagar in Pollachi, an area under the jurisdiction of the Coimbatore rural police.

According to the police, these vehicles belonged to members of the Hindu Munnani and the BJP. The windscreens of the vehicles were found to be damaged. Special teams have been formed to nab the accused.

BJP slams DMK over law and order

Reacting to the attack on the BJP district office, state president K Annamalai took to Twitter and said that incident “will not deter the cadres of the BJP one bit”, and took on the DMK government over the alleged deterioration of law and order in the state.

“@Arivalayam [DMK] govt, people are watching the law and order of our state hitting new bottom every day,” he added.

Petrol Bomb hurled on our Coimbatore @BJP4TamilNadu party office will not deter our brothers & sisters one bit.

This will only strengthen our resolve to fight hard against these very forces who are inimical to our society & country.

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— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) September 23, 2022