A petrol bomb was hurled at the house of a DMK functionary in Anna Nagar here during the small hours of Monday.
According to police, the incident came to light at around 6.30 a.m. when Vijayapandian, brother-in-law of K. Maruthupandian (53), DMK secretary of ward 33, returned from his morning walk.
He was shocked to find broken pieces of a bottle on the porch of their house. He immediately alerted the police, who rushed to the spot and conducted preliminary enquiries.
The DMK functionary resides in a three-storey building along with his family members in the thickly populated Vaigai Colony at Anna Nagar.
It is said that two motorcycle-borne persons threw the petrol-filled bottle with an ignited wick in the open space. No one was injured or no damage was caused to property.
“When I returned home from Tiruchi after attending the DMK conference at around 2 a.m., I did not find anything amiss. I don’t have enemies in other political parties or for that matter within my party. I don’t suspect anyone,” said Mr.Maruthupandian.
According to a police source, the victim was targeted owing to his closeness to the Alagiri camp. “He is very kind and soft-spoken. I don’t think anybody would attempt to kill or even threaten him,” said S. Prakash, an auto-rickshaw driver in the locality.
The police confirmed that it was a petrol bomb.
Samanth Rohan Rajendra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), and other police officials examined the spot.
When contacted, Mr.Rajendra told The Hindu that the police were going through the CCTV footage recovered from a shop near the street where the incident occurred.
“We are trying to ascertain whether the attack was owing to political or personal motive,” he added.
The Anna Nagar police have registered a case.
