KARUR: Karur central town secretary Masi Pavunraj has been arrested and brought to the Karur town police station for interrogation. Earlier on Monday night Karur west district secretary Mathiazhagan was arrested by a special team from the Karur-Dindigul border. He was among the three key functionaries of actor Vijay’s TVK named as a prime suspects in the Sep 27 stampede, which resulted in the death of 41 people.

The FIR in this regard said the Karur police have registered a case under Sections 105, 110, 125(b), 223 of the BNS Act, and Section 3 of the TNPPDL Act.

On Tuesday, ADSP Premanand was named as investigation officer replacing DSP Selvaraj.The incident occured when a massive crowd at Vijay’s rally in Karur turned chaotic on Saturday, triggering panic and causing several attendees to faint. Many were rushed to nearby hospitals. The tragic stampede has claimed 41 lives so far, including 18 women and 10 children. Following the incident, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with Union Minister L Murugan and Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran, met the victims’ families. BJP chief JP Nadda has also constituted an eight-member delegation of NDA leaders to visit Karur and investigate the circumstances of the tragedy. The delegation includes BJP MPs Anurag Thakur, Tejasvi Surya, Braj Lal, Aprajita Sarangi, and Rekha Sharma, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, and Putta Mahesh Kumar from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). BJP MP Hema Malini will serve as the convenor. Expressing his condolences, Nadda prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has set up a one-member commission, headed by retired High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan, to probe the incident. Advocating preventive measures, Nirmala Sitharaman called for a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage large public gatherings, while Stalin urged political parties and public organisations to establish rules to ensure responsible conduct of public events.