Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) functionary M. Karthika, who was among those defeated in the recent Dharapuram (SC) constituency byelection in Tiruppur district, was on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) arrested by the police in connection with a case registered on October 4 against her and seven others including her husband, for staging a protest when TVK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay conducted a roadshow canvassing votes for his party candidate P. Sathyabama. All the co-accused in the case were also arrested.

Ms. Karthika, and her husband Murugan Chandrakumar were picked up in Coimbatore and taken to Dharapuram, after detention at the Peelamedu police station.

Earlier on October 4, Ms. Karthika and 20 others were detained for staging road blockade protesting denial of permission to conduct their campaign along the roadshow route of Mr. Vijay. She alleged the TVK was disbursing cash and gifts to voters, and that the authorities were turning a blind eye.

On Tuesday, in a video shared widely on social media platforms, Ms. Karthika was seen being taken forcibly by women police personnel into the Dharapuram police station.

TVK government’s retributive politics: Seeman

Condemning the arrest, NTK chief coordinator Seeman alleged “false charges” had been framed and that the police action reflected “fascist and retribution” politics of the TVK Government.

In a series of tweets on X platform, Mr. Seeman said the TVK government’s collapse was not far.

Rather than fixing law and order situation, and reining in TVK partymen indulging in criminal activities, arresting Ms. Karthika in a “fabricated case” was a “shameful act.” The TVK government was repeating the “same mistakes” committed by the Dravidian parties in the past, he charged.

Mr. Seeman said he had groomed the NTK partymen to face “oppression” with courage even during the regimes under late Chief Ministers of DMK (M Karunanidhi) and AIADMK (Jayalalithaa).

Demanding immediate release of Ms. Karthika and others, Mr. Seeman warned that the “vengeful” arrest will lead to “disastrous consequences.”

Release Karthika: Stalin

DMK president M.K. Stalin demanded the release of Ms. Karthika, alleging that the TVK government was intimidating political opponents through arrest. In a statement, he said women from oppressed communities who entered politics and public life should be encouraged, irrespective of their ideology or political affiliation. “What does the TVK government seek to achieve by intimidating them through arrest,” he asked.

Mr. Stalin said that when Ms. Karthika had criticised the DMK and its leaders in the past, the party had responded in a principled manner and clarified its position. “We never thought of silencing her through arrest. But the TVK government behaves like an autocratic and undemocratic government,” he said.

He accused the TVK government of misusing its power during the by-election and said the arrest of a candidate for questioning the alleged misuse of power smacked of a dictatorial attitude and a sectarian mindset. “Police officers who arrest people for bailable offences will face the condemnation of courts. The police should not become part of the TVK government’s vendetta politics,” he said.

Mr. Stalin alleged that the arrest was intended to divert public attention from the seizure of drugs from a TVK functionary.