Karuka Vinoth, the man arrested for hurling a petrol bomb in front of the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on October 25, was produced before before the Saidapet Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday. While being taken to the court, he was heard chanting slogans such as ‘NEET should be banned’ and ‘prisoners in jail for more than 10 years should be released’. The court sent him to police custody till November 1.

Vinoth has a criminal record with at least 14 criminal cases pending against him. A senior police officer familiar with the case stated that he is a repeat offender, having previously been involved in similar incidents, including throwing petrol bombs at the state BJP’s party office and a police station.

The Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan had accused the police of not registering their complaint regarding a petrol bomb attack near the building. The Raj Bhavan accused the police of downplaying the incident as a simple act of vandalism, rather than acknowledging the seriousness of the attack.

READ | Police ‘diluting’ attack to vandalism: TN Raj Bhavan

In a statement issued last Thursday, the Raj Bhavan said, “Police did not register Raj Bhavan’s complaint on the attack. Suo Motu 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 prevented detailed interrogation which could expose those behind the attack.”

Contrary to the accusations made by the Raj Bhavan, an officer familiar with the case stated that the Guindy police promptly registered a First Information Report (FIR) following the petrol bomb attack. The accused was reportedly booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, and the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act.

“A fair and complete investigation will be conducted regarding yesterday’s incident. All footage from CCTV is retrieved and a full investigation will be done. Tamil Nadu police give continuous security to the Governor’s office Raj Bhavan,” Director general of police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal said.

Just a few days ago, a Molotov cocktail, commonly known as a petrol bomb, was hurled near the main gate of the Raj Bhavan in Chennai, reports said. Fortunately, no damage or injuries were reported in the incident.

(With inputs from agencies)