By IANS
Bangalore : Around 30 policemen Wednesday guarded the Bangalore residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s daughter Selvi following an attack on it Tuesday.
Police said about 10 people have been detained for questioning in connection with the attack, in protest against Karunanidhi’s comments on Hindu god Ram.
Karunanidhi, an atheist and patriarch of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, had questioned last week whether Ram was an engineer and which college he had studied in, referring to the controversy over the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.
A group of 15 to 20 people pelted stones and threw glass bottles at Selvi’s house in the posh J.P. Nagar area of the city breaking window panes and ornamental bulbs on the compound wall around 8.30 p.m. Tuesday.
Selvi and her husband Murasoli Selvan were away in Chennai when the attack took place, according to the police.
Only the watchman was present at the time of the attack and he suffered minor injuries, Deputy Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar said after visiting the spot.
The watchman told the police that the attackers, who were in their 20s, shouted anti-Karunanidhi slogans, pelted stones and bottles and left behind pamphlets attacking Karunanidhi for his remarks on Lord Ram.
In an apparently related incident, a Tamil Nadu State transport bus was set on fire on the outskirts of Bangalore Tuesday and two passengers were charred to death.
The bus was stopped near Bommanahalli on the road to Hosur in Tamil Nadu around 9.30 p.m. and was set on fire after all passengers were asked to get down, the driver and conductor of the bus told the police.
After the fire was doused, police found two bodies burnt beyond recognition.
The state government has informed the union home ministry and the Tamil Nadu government of the two incidents and steps are being taken to arrest the culprits and to maintain law and order in the state, an official spokesperson told reporters.