A war of words has ensued in Tamil Nadu over a petrol bomb being hurled outside the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on 25th October. The Raj Bhavan in a press statement released on Thursday, October 26, stated that the police did not register Raj Bhavan’s complaint on the attack.
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) October 26, 2023
“Police did not register Raj Bhavan’s complaint on the attack. Suo Moto diluted the attack as an act of simple vandalism and in a hurry got arrested accused remanded to jail at midnight waking up the magistrate and preventing detailed interrogation which could expose those behind the attack. Fair investigation is killed before it begins,” the statement from Raj Bhavan read.
The statement was posted on X, formerly Twitter, tagging the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and Home Minister’s Office (HMO).
This statement came following a detailed press release by the official residence of Governor RN Ravi on 25 October, hours after the attack. It stated that “some miscreants armed with petrol bombs tried to barge into through the main gate no. 1 of the Raj Bhavan”.
Press Release No: 71 pic.twitter.com/FofY87mJZO
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) October 25, 2023
“Even when security personnel of Raj Bhavan attempted to subdue the attacker, another petrol bomb was hurled, which resulted in severe damage to the main entrance to Raj Bhavan. Somehow, one of the assailants was overpowered by the Security,” the statement read.
The Raj Bhavan stated that a police complaint was filed to the Commission of Police, Greater Chennai Police, by the Deputy Secretary to the Governor and Comptroller requesting to register a case under section 124 IPC and other relevant provisions of the law.
It alleged that there have been threat attempts previously, too, “intended to overawe the Governor and restrain him from discharging his Constitutional duties. However, complaints lodged with the police have been inconsequential due to police inaction”.
Recalling an incident on 18th April 2022, the Raj Bhavan alleged in the statement that the Governor was physically attacked with sticks and stones while he was on his way to attend a scheduled function at the Dharmapuram Adhinam. “The complaint was lodged by Raj Bhavan, but the FIR was not registered and no action was taken against the assailants.”
In the complaint letter to the police which was attached with the press release, the Raj Bhavan stated that verbal attacks and threats to the Governor have been made mostly by leaders and workers of the DMK and its allies in their public meetings and through their social media.
Countering the charges, the Tamil Nadu DGP said that “Raj Bhavan’s statement that the petrol bomb exploded and that the petrol bombs were hurled by more than one person is totally contrary to the truth”.
“Also, a statement by the governor’s office that the governor’s convoy was attacked in Mayiladuthirai and the complaint given by the governor’s office and it’s not filed, are also against the truth. Actually, the governor’s convoy was not attacked but his follow-up vehicle was and a case was filed in that incident and 73 persons were arrested,” DGP Shankar Jiwal said.
Jiwal said that a fair and complete investigation will be conducted regarding the incident and that all footage from CCTV has been retrieved. The DGP, however, also said that the complaint that more than one person was involved was untrue.
On 25th October, a man reportedly hurled a petrol bomb outside the main gate of the Raj Bhavan in Chennai. Initial reports had said that two petrol bombs were hurled, which was later dismissed by the state police.
Raj Bhavan was attacked today afternoon. Miscreants carrying bombs tried to barge in through the main gate. However, alert sentries prevented and assailants hurled two petrol bombs inside Raj Bhavan and escaped.@PMOIndia @HMOIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @ANI @PTI_News
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) October 25, 2023
The police had filed a case against the accused, who was reportedly interrogated to determine the motive behind the attack. The accused was identified as a history sheeter named K Vinoth who was involved in an attack on Tamil Nadu BJP headquarters.
A case was reportedly registered against him under sections 436, 353, 506(ii) IPC, Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act and Section 4 of the TNPDL Act.
The controversy comes at a time when the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government and Governor RN Ravi have been at loggerheads over several administrative issues including MK Stalin government’s anti-NEET bill and appointments to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) in recent days.
