NIA invoked the stringent IPC section 124, which pertains to an attack on a President or a governor, besides other charges against Vinod.
Accused "Karukka" Vinod. (Supplied)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against one person in the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan petrol bomb case, officials said on Saturday, 20 January.
In its report filed before a special court in Chennai on Friday, the agency invoked the stringent Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to an attack on a President or a Governor, besides other charges against Vinod alias “Karukka” Vinod, they said.
The accused allegedly hurled two petrol bombs in quick succession at the Raj Bhavan’s gate number 1 in Chennai on 25 October 2023, which resulted in an explosion and damage to government property.
On 11 November, the accused was detained under the Goondas Act by the Tamil Nadu police.
Police earlier said that the Goondas Act was slapped on Vinod on 10 November, after Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore issued the detention order.
“This was the fourth such incident involving the accused. Previously, he had thrown petrol bombs at government establishments like the TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) outlet in T Nagar and the Teynampet police station, and also the BJP Tamil Nadu state head office in Chennai,” an NIA spokesperson said in a statement.
The agency has alleged that Vinod’s motive was to overawe the constitutional authority of the state’s Governor.
“He had stolen petrol from a bike in SM Nagar, collected empty liquor bottles to fill them with petrol, walked up from Teynampet to Raj Bhavan, and hurled two petrol bombs at the Raj Bhavan gate at around 2:40 pm,” the spokesperson said.
When police personnel rushed to restrain him, he allegedly threatened them and thus, deterred them from discharge of duty, the spokesperson added.
“Based on a special report by the police personnel, a case was initially registered at the Guindy police station under Sections 436, 353 and 506 (II) of the IPC, Section 4 of the TNPPDL Act, 1992, and Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The case was re-registered by the NIA on 10 November 2023,” the spokesperson said.
On the afternoon of 25 October, Vinod hurdled a Molotov cocktail at the main entrance of the Governor’s official residence while raising anti-NEET slogans.
The policemen posted outside as security immediately caught him. He was subsequently booked under four sections of the law and lodged in Puzhal prison under judicial custody.
Vinod is a history sheeter and faces over a dozen cases, including one for hurling a petrol bomb in February 2022 at the state BJP headquarters in Chennai.
On 31 October, the city police approached a sessions court to cancel the bail granted to him in a case against him for throwing a petrol bomb at the BJP office.
The police had submitted in court that the accused did not comply with bail conditions. Following his release from prison on bail, he had thrown a petrol bomb on 25 October near Raj Bhavan’s main gate, and he was arrested, the police had said in the court.
The incident had started a fresh row of attacks between the DMK government and the Governor.
A Raj Bhavan complaint on the incident claimed that more than one person was involved and that when they tried to enter the residence of Governor RN Ravi, they were prevented by the sentries on duty. The complaint also contended that the petrol bomb exploded.
On 26 October, Governor Ravi also issued a brief statement, levelling allegations against the Chennai City Police. The statement said that the police did not register Raj Bhavan’s complaint about the attack.
It added that the suo motu action of the police diluted the attack to an act of simple vandalism, and the accused was hurriedly arrested and remanded to jail at midnight after a magistrate was woken up.
Referring to the complaint filed by the Governor’s office, state DGP Shankar Jiwal had said, “The information given in the complaint, as preferred by the Raj Bhavan, that more than one person tried to trespass into Raj Bhavan, despite the security personnel trying to stop them, and threw the petrol bomb which exploded, is contrary to the truth.”
In the official statement, Jiwal said that the accused “Karukka” Vinod, 42, was a habitual offender in the Teynampet police station area and had acted alone in the Molotov cocktail attack near Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, 25 October.
The DGP also stated that it was because of the alert police personnel, deployed for the protection of Raj Bhavan, that the accused had been restrained and arrested.
Jiwal assured that a prompt and full-fledged investigation will be conducted into the incident.
(With PTI inputs)
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