A 39-year-old man was arrested by the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) for throwing a petrol bomb at a temple in the city. The man, who was identified as J MuraliKrishanan, entered the temple and hurled the bottle filled with petrol at the deity. The incident was captured on CCTV and the accused has previous cases against him. The police stated that the man committed the offense due to his incoherent state of mind caused by heavy intoxication. No injuries were reported in the incident. Janardhan Koushik reported
A 39-year-old man named J MuraliKrishnan was taken into custody by the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) for throwing a petrol bomb at a temple located near Parrys corner in the northern part of the city. The incident occurred at around 8:45 am when MuraliKrishnan entered the Sri Veerabhadra Swamy temple at the Athiyappa street-Govindappa Naicken Street Junction and tossed a bottle filled with petrol at the deity inside the temple.
According to Umachandran, a priest at the temple, MuraliKrishnan entered the temple wearing slippers and approached the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) while holding a bottle-like object. He then ignited the object with a lighter and threw it towards the deity. Fortunately, none of the four individuals present near the deity were harmed, but the flowers offered to the god were burnt. Immediately after the incident, everyone rushed inside the temple and used water to extinguish the flames.
Upon receiving information from the public, the police arrived at the scene and apprehended MuraliKrishnan. As a precautionary measure, the temple was locked following the incident. It has been revealed that MuraliKrishnan, who was running a wholesale and retail dry fruit business, had suffered a setback and was feeling dejected about not being able to overcome it.
Footage from the CCTV camera, which shows MuraliKrishnan wearing a face mask and pouring petrol into a beer bottle while sitting inside a tea shop, has gone viral on social media. Investigations have revealed that MuraliKrishnan had previous criminal cases against him and was a regular visitor to the temple. The police have stated that the incident was likely a result of MuraliKrishnan’s impaired state of mind due to heavy intoxication.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the attack, as confirmed by the city police. MuraliKrishnan has been charged under the Explosive Substances Act, and further investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP, K Annamalai, took to social media to highlight the recent increase in petrol bomb attacks in the city. He held the ruling DMK government accountable for the incident, stating that their failure to prevent separatist organizations promoting pseudo-secularism and atheism has led to such acts of violence, including petrol bombs being thrown inside temples..