VIRUDHUNAGAR
Unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb at a TASMAC shop at Watrap in the district on Sunday night. However, no one was injured or no material in the shop damaged in the attack, police said.
According to the police, the petrol bomb was hurled at the shop located on Watrap-Koomapatti Road around 9.30 p.m. Only three employees of the shop were present and there were no customers at the time of the attack, the police said. The petrol bomb hit the wall of the shop, Superintendent of Police M. Rajarajan said.
The employees could not identify the perpetrators of the crime. The police were yet to ascertain whether someone who came on a two-wheeler hurled the petrol bomb or someone from a farm in the vicinity did it. The local police tried to downplay the incident, claiming it to be the handiwork of some alcoholic.
On August 12, a TASMAC shop was ransacked under Vanniyampatti police station limits in the district. Liquor bottles worth ₹90,000 were smashed by residents of Mottamalai, mostly women, who were protesting against opening of a new TASMAC shop in the locality.
The shop was being shifted from the old bus stand in Rajapalayam. The police had booked 11 named accused among several people and arrested two persons in connection with the incident.
Shifting of TASMAC shops at different places has been leading to protests in the district in recent times.
