TVK district secretary arrested in Karur stampede case

On Monday, the toll from the stampede rose to 41 after a 60-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries at a hospital

Actor-politician Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's Karur West district secretary Mathiyazhagan was on Monday arrested in connection with the tragic stampede at party president’s rally that claimed 41 lives and left over 60 injured.

An FIR into Saturday’s stampede lists Karur West district secretary V P Mathiyalagan among three TVK office bearers named in the case.

The other two named in the FIR are TVK state general secretary Bussy Anand and party general secretary Nirmal Kumar.

According to an official cited by news agency PTI, Mathyiyalagan was picked up near the Karur-Dindigul border.

The FIR cites sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125 (endangering life of others), and 223 (disobedience to order) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the three TVK functionaries.

Meanwhile, a police official also stated that Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992, has also been levelled against them.

The FIR alleges that TVK chief Vijay “deliberately” arrived late at Velusamypuram in Karur on September 27, triggering overcrowding and unrest among the crowd waiting for his rally. It further states that party functionaries failed to manage cadres or follow police warnings against congestion.

"Cadres perched atop tin sheets and tree branches, by throwing caution to the wind, fell on people standing below, and as a result, many choked, leading to an abnormal situation", police said in the FIR, as per PTI.

On Monday, the toll from the stampede rose to 41 after a 60-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries at a hospital.