’Car was hit by bullet, not stone’

Vinod Raj shoots holes in police theory, sees sinister motive behind 'attack'

'Car was hit by bullet, not stone'

Vinod Raj shoots holes in police theory, sees sinister motive behind 'attack'

The alleged 'murder' attempt on actor Vinod Raj and his mother Leelavathi on Saturday has taken a new twist with the actor rubbishing the theory trotted out by the city police. He also demanded round-the-clock security for his mother.

"I got a call from some of my fans this morning, saying that they had hurled a stone at one of their heavy vehicles just to see if the window broke the way it did in our case. They say that the stone bounced back and there was no damage to the glass. I think this clearly explains the fact that the car was not hit by a stone but a bullet," he said.

Land mafia?

While some alleged the land mafia's involvement as Vinod owns prime property, the actor himself dismissed such rumours. "We sold our land a decade ago. It was a clean, uncomplicated transanction. I do not deal in real estate. We only have a farm, where we grow vegetables and grains there. In fact agriculture has always been our primary occupation," he explained.

Farmer first

According to Vinod, the family has no enemies. "We're still in a state of shock. I can't understand why we are being targeted. Most of time, we stay away from film functions. A farmers' campaign was launched recently in front of Vidhana Soudha and that was probably the only programme we took part in. I often visit Russel Market to supply vegetables. That's my routine," he said.

The episode

The suspected 'firing' took place in the busy Majestic area, when Vinod Raj and Leelavathi, along with their manager were heading to Abbaiah Naidu Studio to participate in a TV programme. They were in a Toyota SUV.

Vinod said, "The incident occurred near Shantala Silk House, just a minute after we started from the traffic signal there. Suddenly, we heard a loud, abnormal sound. The left window of the car cracked and was dislodged from the frame."

Referring to similar "attacks" in the past, he recalled how a man with a .22 rifle was found on his farm in Nelamangala a couple of years ago. "Just a few months after this episode, the windshield of this very same SUV was shattered when the vehicle was parked in front of my office in Gandhinagar," he said.u00a0

"This is not the first time such a thing is happening to us. We are just two of us in the family and we have don't have anyone else. The police should provide us with round-the-clock security," he added.

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