5 Activists Of Radical Islamic Outfit SDPI Among 11 Arrested For Series Of Petrol Bomb Attacks On BJP, RSS Workers Across Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu police on Sunday arrested 11 persons, including five members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), in connection with petro-bomb attacks on the properties of BJP and RSS functionaries across the State since last Thursday.

The Molotov cocktail attacks, which commenced from Coimbatore, have now spread to Erode, Salem, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul, Kanniyakumari and some parts of Chennai, including Tambaram.

On Sunday, SDPI functionaries hurled a kerosene-filled bottle at the house of RSS Salem Town community organiser V.K. Rajan near Ammapet.

Based on the CCTV footage, the police arrested Syed Ali Pachapatti near Kitchipalayam, the SDPI district president, and K. Khadeer Hussein of Ponnammapet, the 34th ward president of the SDPI. They were remanded in judicial custody, and the police seized a bike used in the attack.

Four persons, including an SDPI member, were arrested for the arson attack at the shop of a BJP youth wing functionary in Erode on the night of September 22. The arrested were identified as SDPI member Sadam Hussain, 23, his friends Ashik, Jaffar, 27, and Khalil Rahman, all hailing from Karungalpalayam.

In Madurai, two persons, identified as Hussain of Sammattipuram and Samsudeen of Nelpettai, were arrested in connection with a petrol bomb thrown at the house of M.H. Krishnan, an RSS functionary at Anupanadi, on Saturday.

The Coimbatore City Police on Sunday arrested two people linked to the SDPI in connection with hurling molotov cocktails on a car and a house belonging to members of Hindu Munnani and BJP in Kuniyamuthur on Friday. The arrested were identified as S Jesuraj (34) and A Iliyas (34).

The house of Kalyanasundaram, a businessman and BJP supporter in Kanniyakumari, was also attacked with molotov cocktail on Sunday.

DGP C Sylendra Babu on Sunday warned that those disturbing public peace would be booked under the National Security (NSA) Act.

The DGP, in a statement, said 250 suspects had been interrogated so far and over 100 of them are still being questioned.

BJP state president K. Annamalai said that the Tamil Nadu Police's hands had been tied for the past 15 months and that it was at its peak. He said that the party would not be cowed down by the cowardly acts of Molotov cocktail attacks.

Annamalai said that he had spoken to the Union Home Minister over the phone. “He has promised to take appropriate action,” he said, adding that the reports submitted by the MLAs would be sent to Home Minister.

The BJP state president also said that the party has constituted four fact-finding teams to report on the damage caused to the residences/ shops and offices of party workers and that a report would be submitted to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah after getting the feedback from the committees.