Twenty persons, who were returning after paying homage to Muthuramalinga Thevar at Pasumpon on the occasion of his birth anniversary, were injured when the vehicle in which they were travelling caught fire on the Ring Road on Tuesday night, following alleged petrol bomb attack.
A convoy of eight vehicles was moving towards Puliyankulam with police escort when the last vehicle went up in flames. A few of the injured alleged that three petrol bombs were hurled at the vehicle when it passed a residential area. However, police said that the cause of fire could be ascertained only after a forensic examination.
Commissioner of Police Sanjay Mathur, who visited the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), said that four of the critically injured — Desingu Raja, Muthukrishnan, Vishnu Priyan and Senthilkumar — were shifted to a private hospital. They had sustained 60 to 100 per cent burn injuries. The rest are undergoing treatment at the GRH.
Collector Anshul Mishra also visited the hospital. Relatives of the injured persons complained that the ward in which treatment was being provided lacked basic facilities.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) T. K. Rajendran visited the GRH at night. DIG B. Balanagadevi inspected the spot where the incident took place.
