Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, Firebombing, Wisconsin 2022

A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty today to the May 8, 2022 firebombing of a Madison office building.

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, pleaded guilty to attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive.

According to court documents, on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at approximately 6:06 a.m., law enforcement responded to an active fire at an office building located in Madison.

Once inside the building, police observed a mason jar under a broken window; the jar was broken, and the lid and screw top were burned black.

The police also saw a purple disposable lighter near the mason jar.

On the opposite wall from the window, the police saw another mason jar with the lid on and a blue cloth tucked into the top; the cloth was singed.

The jar was about half full of a clear fluid that smelled like an accelerant.

Outside of the building, someone spray painted on one wall, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” and, on another wall, a large “A” with a circle around it and the number “1312.”

During the investigation, law enforcement collected DNA from the scene of the attack.

In March 2023, law enforcement identified Roychowdhury as a possible suspect.

Local police officers observed Roychowdhury dispose of food in a public trash can; the officers recovered the leftover food and related items, and law enforcement collected DNA from the food.

On March 17, law enforcement advised that a forensic biologist examined the DNA evidence recovered from the attack scene and compared it to the DNA collected from the food contents.

The forensic biologist found the two samples matched and likely were the same individual.

In March, Roychowdhury travelled from Madison to Portland, Maine, and he purchased a one-way ticket from Boston to Guatemala City, departing March 28.

Law enforcement arrested Roychowdhury at Boston Logan International Airport that day.

Roychowdhury faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 14, 2024.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/man-pleads-guilty-firebombing-building