CHENNAI: The state police on Friday released CCTV footage related to the Molotov cocktail attack on the Raj Bhavan to prove that only a lone suspect, Karukka Vinod, was involved in the incident and that he was overpowered in time before he could cause damage to people or properties. The clarification comes after the governor's office said miscreants (more than one) hurled two petrol bombs inside the Raj Bhavan and escaped.
In a press conference in Chennai, Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal and Chennai Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore released CCTV footage that showed the accused walking alone on Taluk Office Road from Little Mount towards Sardar Patel Road, where the Raj Bhavan is located. When he reached the Taluk Office-Sardar Patel Road junction point on the opposite side of the Raj Bhavan’s main gate, visuals showed police personnel cautiously approaching Vinod to prevent him from hurling petrol bombs and overpowering him. The footage also shows Vinod lighting the wick of the bottles and trying to hurl a ‘petrol bomb’ at the gate and the bottle falling well before the barricade near the Raj Bhavan main gate.
Governor’s convoy was not attacked, says ADGP
The Raj Bhavan had claimed on Thursday that a group of miscreants had attempted to barge in through the main gate and there was security lapse on the part of the police. The commissioner denied the allegations of security lapse and said Vinod was not apprehended by Raj Bhavan employees but by five Chennai police personnel.
“There were no other miscreants, who either accompanied Vinod or came as a separate group, involved in the attack,” DGP Shankar Jiwal said. Jiwal also said police followed all legal procedures in arresting Vinod and acted swiftly in sending him to jail. “We were not in a hurry to complete the probe,” he said. Commissioner Rathore said,
“We will hold inquiries with the accused. After inquiring with witnesses, if needed, we can include and alter a few sections (under which the accused was booked).” With regard to the Raj Bhavan’s claim that the governor’s convoy was attacked when he was on his way to the Dharmapuram Aadheenam in Mayiladuthurai, ADGP Arun said a protester hurled a flag fitted to a cane from a blindspot behind a parked police vehicle.
The flag fell on a black coloured car passing through and it was not the governor’s vehicle. The convoy had already passed through the stretch, the officer said. DGP Jiwal said the police initiated proper action in the incident and arrested at least 73 suspects. Jiwal also said they cannot initiate any legal action against Raj Bhavan officials for the ‘flaws’ in their statement. “We will strictly adhere to the Constitution,” he said.