Petrol bomb hurled at Tamil Nadu's BJP headquarters, investigations on

In apparent opposition to the BJP's pro-NEET stand, a man, 38, hurled petrol 'bombs' on Thursday at the Tamil Nadu headquarters of the party in Chennai. He has been arrested.

Chennai: A 38-year old man hurled petrol 'bombs' at the Tamil Nadu headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Chennai on Thursday (February 10). It's been alleged that this comes in the background of BJP's pro-NEET stand.

After setting fire to three bottles filled with petrol, the accused - who has been arrested - threw them at the BJP state headquarters in the early hours. The man, a known history-sheeter, arrived on a two-wheeler and quickly fled the spot after hurling the bottles at the entrance area of the party office.

Police were alerted immediately and a team of officials inspected the spot and CCTV cameras were scrutinised. The BJP HQ is located in downtown T Nagar. It was found that the miscreant was 38-year old Vinoth alias 'Karukka' Vinoth, who faces a bunch of criminal cases, including attempts to murder and he was arrested, a city police release said.

According to a preliminary probe, there is no political or religious aspect to this attack and Vinoth has a history of carrying out such attacks, under the influence of alcohol, in matters of public interest. The probe revealed that he had thrown the bottles to show his opposition to the BJP's stand supporting the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test. The investigation is continuing.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai had earlier said, "We demand a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into this incident. The guilty should be booked and punished. Law and order deteriorating in our state. NIA is the only solution to this incident where truth and conspiracy will come out."

Vinoth has a history of crime. In 2015, he had thrown a petrol bomb at a liquor retail outlet and in 2017 at the entrance of Teynampet police station here in connection with some issues. He was arrested in both cases and had been remanded to judicial custody.

Barring the BJP, other political parties in Tamil Nadu are opposed to the national entrance test for medical admissions and on February 8, a Bill was adopted again by the Assembly to bypass the examination in the state.

(With Agency inputs)