The Coimbatore police have arrested two men -- a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member and a BJP member -- for hurling a petrol bomb at a mosque in Ganapathy on March 5.

The incident took place around 1 am on March 5, when miscreants had hurled petrol bombs at the front gate of Hidayathul Sunnath Jamath Mosque at Vedhambal Nagar near Ganapathy in Coimbatore. However, since the bomb did not explode, nobody was injured in the incident. Following a complaint from the Secretary of the Jama’ath, the police had formed three separate teams to nab the miscreants. Based on tip-offs, the police detained BJP member Pandi (41) and VHP member Akhil (23), both from Rathnapuri in Coimbatore for inquiry. According to a statement by the Coimbatore police, the accused told the police that they hurled petrol bomb at the mosque to protest against the attack against Anand, a Hindu Munnani functionary a few days ago. The accused also reportedly told the police that they were planning to create more chaos.

Madukkarai Anand, the District Secretary of Hindu Munnani was attacked on March 4, while he was returning home after participating in a pro-CAA dharna organised by the BJP and allied parties in Gandhipuram. He was allegedly followed by men on two motorbikes, who attacked him with rods. Anand suffered head injuries in the attack and was admitted to a hospital. The Podanur police registered a case for attempt to murder based on a complaint and had also formed special teams to nab the accused. However, no one has been apprehended in that case till now.

Based on the statements given by the accused, the police arrested the two men, seized the two-wheeler they used, two cell phones and the things they used to manufacture the petrol bomb. The police also told TNM that Pandi is a BJP member and Akhil is a VHP member. The duo has also been remanded to judicial custody.