NIA court sentences man to 10 years jail for petrol bomb attack outside Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan gate

Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan attack accused, Vinoth, 39, was sentenced under various sections of the Explosive Substance Act and for causing damage to public property.

Chennai, A special court for the National Investigation Agency at Poonamallee, here, sentenced one Karukka Vinoth to ten years imprisonment for his involvement in the petrol bomb attack outside the Raj Bhavan gate in 2023.

In addition to the rigorous imprisonment (RI), the court imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for hurling two petrol bombs and causing them to explode near the official residence of the Governor on October 25, 2023.

Vinoth, 39, was sentenced under various sections of the Explosive Substance Act and for causing damage to public property.

Following the incident, the Chennai police had released CCTV footage showing the suspect Vinoth hurling petrol bombs a few meters away from the Raj Bhavan gate no. 1.

The Raj Bhavan had claimed that miscreants, armed with petrol bombs, attempted to barge into the Governor’s residence through the main gate that is used by the Governor and other dignitaries.

Immediately after the incident, the police who were present on duty that day overpowered Vinoth and seized two unexploded petrol bombs from him. The case was later transferred for a probe by the NIA, which had filed a 680-page chargesheet against Vinoth in January last year.

NIA’s special public prosecutor N Bhaskaran submitted that Vinoth deliberately acted with an intent to endanger the safety of key leaders and create a security threat. He urged the court to impose maximum punishment.

Accepting, Judge S Malarvizhi ruled that the charges against the accused were proved beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced Vinoth to ten years RI and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on November 12.