Periyar statue vandalised in Vellore, petrol bomb hurled at BJP Coimbatore office
The four culprits came on two bikes, hurled the petrol bombs at the BJP office and escaped before the police on guard could catch them.
Unidentified bike-borne miscreants threw petrol bombs at a BJP office in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore early Wednesday, hours after a statue of social reformer EVR Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, was vandalised in the southern state.
No one was injured and there was no major damage to the office located at VKK Salai in Coimbatore city, police said.
Three people have surrendered in connection with the incident and they were arrested, the police told PTI.
The suspects -- identified as Balan, Jeevanantham and Goutham -- are said to be members of the Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (TPDK). They surrendered in two police stations.
At around 3.30am, four people came on two bikes, hurled two fire bombs and escaped before a guard could catch them, police said. They seemed to know the area well as they made sure that their faces were not caught on CCTVs.
Police have stepped up security of BJP offices in the state after protests erupted over senior leader H Raja’s Facebook post -- which has since been deleted – that talked about Periyar statues meeting the same fate as that of Lenin in Tripura.
“Who is Lenin and what is the connection between Lenin and India?... Lenin’s statue has been removed in Tripura. Today it is Lenin’s statue in Tripura, tomorrow it will be the statue of caste fanatic EVR Ramasamy,” he posted.
Raja was reacting to widespread outrage over toppling of a Lenin statue by alleged BJP supporters in South Tripura’s Belonia on Monday, two days after the BJP and its allies scored a stunning win to end 25 years of Left rule in the northeastern state.
Late on Tuesday, reports emerged of one more statue being vandalised in another Tripura town.
Police have stepped up vigil near BJP offices after protests broke out against its senior leader H Raja for his statement on the Periyar statue.
(With agency inputs)