SALEM/COIMBATORE, SEP 25
Two unidentified persons hurled molotov cocktail at the house of an RSS functionary in Ammapet in Salem on Sunday, police said. The bottle filled with kerosene fell near the door of the house and broke, without catching fire in the early hours of Sunday. Six people belonging to PFI and SDPI were detained for interrogation at the police station, where Salem City Police Commissioner Najmul Hoda and Deputy Commissioner M Madasamy were present.
Meanwhile, over 100 workers belonging to VCK, SDPI and other Muslim organisations assembled near the station, protesting against the detention. Police personnel, including armed force, were deployed in and around the station, to prevent any eventualities.
- Investigation is being held in connection with various incidents of explosive substances being hurled at the premises of the members of ‘some organisations’, and 250 people have been enquired so far: DGP C Sylendra Babu
- Security strengthened in Coimbatore, 3,500 police personnel deployed
- Police hands are tied, alleges BJP chief K Annamalai
CCTV footage near the house on Paramakudi Nannusamy Street, showed two persons moving suspiciously and suddenly hurling the bottle and fleeing the scene, police said.
Based on the complaint from the RSS functionary, police rushed to the spot and conducted inquiries. Police personnel have been deployed near the house as part of protection, they said.
Meanwhile, amid continuing incidents of Sangh Parivar activists’ properties being targeted in the wake of NIA raids against the Popular Front of India (PFI), the Tamil Nadu police on Sunday warned of slapping the stringent National Security Act against those indulging in such acts.
A release from the office of DGP C Sylendra Babu said investigation is being held in connection with various incidents of explosive substances being hurled at the premises of the members of ‘some organisations’, and 250 people have been enquired so far.
Without specifying the numbers, he said arrests have also been recorded in connection with the incidents. Similar fresh incidents – from Madurai, Salem and Kanyakumari – where unidentified miscreants hurled such substances were reported from the state.
Earlier, the premises and vehicles of members of the BJP and RSS, mainly in and around Coimbatore, were targeted in the wake of NIA raids against the PFI earlier this week, with the BJP holding the radical Islamist outfit responsible for the incidents.
Police said the miscreants hurled “kerosene-filled” bottles. On Sunday, the DGP said security has been beefed up in Coimbatore with the deployment of around 3,500 personnel from the Rapid Action Force and the state commando force, among others.
“It is being warned that those impeding public peace through such acts will be arrested under the NSA,” the DGP said.
ADGP (Law and Order) P Thamarai Kannan was camping in Coimbatore.
Meanwhile, the hands of the Tamil Nadu police are tied and they are not able to function freely, State president of the BJP K Annamalai alleged on Sunday.
Though he welcomed the DGP’s C Sylendar Babu’s statement to book under NSA (National Security Act) all those guily in arson and violence targeting the BJP, Annamalai told reporters here that the police officers should act and not merely issue statements.
The BJP leader said the hands of police were tied for the last 15 months and that has reached its peak at present.
One cannot prevent the growth of the BJP by such attacks and the government has to face the wrath of party workers if immediate action was not taken, he said.
He said that an agitation would be held here on Monday against the attacks and also sought to know why action was taken against complainants and not complaints.
However, the police have denied permission for the agitation.
The BJP leader, on his way to Tirupur to see the workers affected by the hurling of bombs on the premises, said the party has formed four teams to assess the situation and damages.
He said MLA Vanathi Srinivasan would head the Coimbatore team and reports would be submitted to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Annamalai said the steps taken by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin were not satisfactory. The BJP leader said he has spoken to Shah in this regard.
