Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had a plan. When actor-turned-politician Vijay’s rally in Karur ended in a stampede on September 27 that killed 41 people, his government chose restraint. There would be no immediate arrests of top TVK leaders, no naming of the star or his closest leaders in the FIR, no hasty confrontation that could make the state look vindictive. It was a calculation: avoid fuelling sympathy for a man whose fan base is more cult than cadre.
But two weeks on, that caution has not brought calm. Stalin’s tactical restraint – avoiding direct confrontation with Vijay – helped Tamil Nadu avert an immediate law-and-order crisis after the Karur stampede. Yet, the real battleground shifted online – social media, where rival IT cells, prominent YouTubers, and faceless TVK supporters amplified the conflict with unverified claims and incendiary narratives. Moreover, the state has also been consumed by a swirl of bomb hoaxes, arrests of YouTubers and political operatives, and allegations of censorship against a major Tamil news channel. And the government now finds itself battling adversaries on all fronts – in the courts, on the streets, and on social media and TV debates.
The fiercest attacks came online, where TVK supporters and DMK rivals seized on the stampede to spin conspiracy theories. Felix Gerald, a known Tamil YouTuber, was among the first to be arrested. He alleged that the state, the ruling DMK, and the DMK’s Karur leader Senthil Balaji had orchestrated the tragedy, and that knives were used to injure people – claims the government said were not only false but designed to spark a DMK-TVK clash. In a stampede in which several police officers were also hospitalised, no stab wounds were reported anywhere. Gerald was earlier booked for shows on his YouTube channel, allegedly targeting public officials and women police officers.
Then came Aadhav Arjuna, a close aide of Vijay and TVK’s rising second-line face, who is also the son-in-law of lottery ‘king’ Santiago Martin. His since-deleted post on X called for a “Gen Z revolution” in Tamil Nadu, citing uprisings in Nepal and Sri Lanka. “Youth-led revolution is the only solution,” he wrote, before accusing police of brutalising citizens.
Arjuna had been spared by Stalin’s police after the stampede, where he was present, but soon after the tweet, a case was filed for alleged incitement. The same evening, Arjuna boarded a private jet out of Chennai. The Madras High Court later called his post “inflammatory and seditious.”
What followed was the arrest of retired police officer Varadarajan, who alleged the stampede was a planned, executed murder and repeated the claims of Gerald that men with knives had been unleashed at the rally.
In a scathing hearing, the Madras High Court did not spare Vijay or his party from reproach. Justice N Senthilkumar noted that the “leader (Vijay) disappeared, vanished; there was none left to help the people,” condemning the party for fleeing the scene and showing “no remorse.”
As the court itself excoriated Vijay and the TVK’s leadership, online abuse against the judiciary also intensified. Three men, all identified as TVK followers, were arrested for derogatory posts against Justice Senthilkumar. Another AIADMK functionary, Antony Sagaya Mikel Raj of Tuticorin, was also booked for similar remarks. The police also picked up at least three more individuals for allegedly circulating fake news, including one TVK follower who spread the claim that Chief Minister Stalin had died. Each was charged with “creating fear” and disturbing public order.
If the state’s caution toward Vijay reflected restraint, its handling of the press revealed the opposite instinct. On October 3, Puthiya Thalaimurai, a prominent Tamil news channel, abruptly vanished from the state-run Arasu Cable network, which carries over 150 channels to nearly 15 lakh subscribers.
The government’s explanation – a “technical glitch” affecting standard-definition set-top boxes – satisfied few. Viewers flooded the channel with complaints, noting that only Puthiya Thalaimurai was affected. Journalists protested, and the Chennai Press Club condemned the blackout as censorship.
Opposition leaders criticised the government. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami called it “dictatorial.” BJP state president K Annamalai accused Stalin of silencing criticism. Even voices within the ruling INDIA alliance expressed unease.
The blackout echoed an earlier episode in 2018, when Puthiya Thalaimurai was bumped from channel 124 to 499 under the AIADMK government, a move then-opposition leader Stalin had denounced as proof of authoritarianism.
Meanwhile, a daily wave of bomb threats was playing out on the sidelines. Police say there has been a steady increase in the number of emails in the last eight months. “What used to be once a week is once a day now,” said an officer attached to the Chennai City Police Commissionerate. There were about 30 in the last month alone.
In recent weeks, targets have included the Chief Minister’s residence, Raj Bhavan, BJP state headquarters, actor Vijay’s seaside home in Neelankarai, actor Trisha’s residence, the offices of Puthiya Thalaimurai and India Today, The Hindu daily’s headquarters on Anna Salai, and the PTI news agency in Chennai.
Journalists, YouTubers, and public figures were not spared either. One round of threats claimed explosives were planted at the homes of magazine editor Nakheeran Gopal, YouTuber Savukku Shankar, and other Tamil media personalities. Each time, bomb squads swept in with sniffer dogs, cordoning off roads, evacuating offices, and combing buildings – only to find nothing.
“One of the rare breakthroughs comes when the threat is over the phone. In one such recent case, a man who phoned in a bomb threat against Vijay’s residence was caught and admitted he was drunk and upset over the Karur tragedy,” a senior officer said. Investigators believe the threats are the work of a Tamil expatriate abroad, using VPNs and encrypted email services registered overseas, making them nearly impossible to trace.
The pattern, police say, is designed to mirror whatever is dominating Tamil Nadu’s political discourse that week. “He is sending emails targeting almost every other known person in Tamil social media. Now they come daily,” the officer added.