On September 27, 41 people died in the stampede at TVK's Karur rally. File Photo: PTI
Karur stampede: TVK district secretary Mathiyazhagan arrested
Karur West district secretary V P Mathiyazhagan was among three TVK office bearers named in FIR into stampede; he's booked for culpable homicide
Even as Tamil Nadu is coming to grips with the Karur stampede tragedy, which has claimed the lives of 41 people, actor-politician Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s Karur West district secretary was arrested in connection with the stampede at the party president’s rally.
On Monday (September 29) night, police said TVK's Karur West district secretary V P Mathiyazhagan has been arrested. This TVK leader was among the three TVK office bearers named in the FIR into the stampede that occurred on Saturday. 60 people were also injured in the stampede.
TVK state general secretary Bussy Anand and party deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar are the other two party office bearers named in the FIR. Mathyiyalagan was picked up near the Karur-Dindigul border, an official said.
Booked
The three TVK functionaries have been booked under 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.
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Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992, has also been levelled against them, a police official said.
'Abnormal situation'
According to the FIR, TVK chief Vijay "deliberately" reached late at Velusamypuram in Karur district, leading to overcrowding and restlessness among the people, gathered to attend his rally on September 27.
It also said TVK party functionaries did not regulate their cadres or heed police warnings against overcrowding.
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"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.
The toll in the stampede increased to 41 on Monday, with a 60-year-old woman succumbing to her injuries at a hospital.