Petrol bombs hurled at Tirunelveli theatre screening Amaran
Three petrol bombs were thrown at the premises but there were no damages reported.
CHENNAI: Tension prevailed at Melapalayam in Tirunelveli after some unidentified miscreants hurled petrol bombs at a cinema hall screening actor Sivakarthikeyan's biographical drama, 'Amaran', early on Saturday, police said. No one was hurt in the incident, police said.
Melapalayam police rushed to the spot and inspected the premises with the support of a sniffer dog. "Two miscreants hurled petrol bombs inside the compound wall of the cinema complex in Melapalayam which exploded. No one was, however, injured and it did not cause any damage to property," the police said.
In the last couple of weeks, several groups in parts of Tamil Nadu had lodged protests against ‘Amaran’, alleging that the film portrays Muslims and Kashmiris in a bad light.
A video of the incident went viral prompting the police to intervene and investigate. The video showed two men standing in front of the theatre with three petrol-filled bottles and hurling them at the theatre in quick succession. The miscreants fled the scene immediately. Since the incident happened around 3 am, there was nobody inside the premises, sources said.
Manikandan, proprietor of the theatre, when contacted, said shows were cancelled in the morning and operations could resume only at 3 p.m.
The Melapalayam police are yet to arrest the accused, sources said.
Condemning the incident, a group of Hindu Munnani workers, led by its state vice president VP Jayakumar, protested in front of the theatre. They were detained by the police for "illegally entering" the premises. They were later released, sources said.