Karur stampede: Chennai police arrest three for allegedly spreading rumours

Police insisted investigations are underway, and urged the public not to spread unverified information while inquiry into the Karur tragedy is ongoing.

Published Sep 29, 2025 | 9:23 PMUpdated Sep 29, 2025 | 9:23 PM

Relatives at the Karur Government Hospital.

Synopsis: Cases have been registered against 25 social media account holders for posting rumours that could disturb public peace. Based on complaints, three individuals have been arrested.

Chennai police on Monday, 29 September, arrested three people for spreading rumours on social media regarding the Karur TVK rally crowd crush incident.

So far, 41 people have lost their lives in the stampede on Saturday, 27 September — 14 men, 18 women, four boys and five girls. Among the deceased, 34 are from the Karur district, two each from the Erode, Tiruppur, and Dindigul districts, and one from the Salem district.

Cases have been registered against 25 social media account holders for posting rumours that could disturb public peace. Based on complaints, three individuals have been arrested.

Those arrested include:

  • Sagayam (38), BJP State Secretary of Arts and Culture Wing, from Perumbakkam
  • Sivanesan, member of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), from Mangadu
  • Sarathkumar (32), TVK area secretary, from Avadi

Police insisted investigations are underway, and urged the public not to spread unverified information while inquiry into the Karur tragedy is ongoing.

Ground report: Carelessness, callousness, chaos – inside TVK’s Karur rally

ADGP blames organisers

Following the tragic stampede, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (in-charge) G Venkataraman told the media that a large crowd, inadequate facilities and congestion caused the tragedy.

The TVK headquarters had informed the district police that it was expecting only around 10,000 people to attend the meeting. The party also assured in writing that it would make the necessary arrangements and sought the police permission to hold the meeting.

“Taking into account their earlier rallies in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur, we had allotted a larger venue in Karur than the one they originally requested. The places they first asked for — the Roundana area and the Uzhavar Sandhai areas are very small. Only two days ago, another state-level party had conducted its campaign rally in this same venue,” Venkataraman said.

“They had stated an expected crowd of 10,000, but around 27,000 people turned up. Keeping in mind that it would be much more than 10,000, we had already deployed sufficient police personnel for security arrangements,” he added.

The Tamil Nadu police registered a case against several people, including TVK Karur West District Secretary VP Mathiyazhagan. It has been reported that a case has been registered under four sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including culpable homicide and endangering public safety.

(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)

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