1. Three AIADMK MLAs resign from posts, join TVK

Three AIADMK MLAs who were part of the S.P. Velumani faction resigned from their posts, following which Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar accepted their resignation letters.

Minutes later, Maragatham Kumaravel, the MLA for Madurantakam constituency (Chengalpattu district), S. Jayakumar, the MLA for Perundurai constituency (Erode district), and P. Sathyabama, the MLA for Dharapuram constituency (Tiruppur district), met Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna at his chamber in the Secretariat and joined the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Taking a jibe at this development, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, in a statement, termed it as “vulgar politics” and “horse trading” introduced in Tamil Nadu by the ruling TVK. Meanwhile, DMK president M.K. Stalin, in his social media post, described it as “horse trading at horse speed.”

2. Thoothukudi schoolgirl rape-murder case: Man gets death penalty 

The special court for POCSO Act cases in Thoothukudi sentenced 38-year-old Dharma Muneeswaran of Sayalkudi, to death on two counts after convicting him in the sexual assault and murder case of a 17-year-old schoolgirl in the district two months ago.

The crime had occurred in March at Vedanatham village that falls under Kulathur police jurisdiction.

3. Road blockade against TVK functionary who asked ‘₹1 lakh per month’ bribe 

Residents, mostly brick kiln workers and their families, at Puthur village in Vellore district blocked the Cuddalore - Chittoor Highway against a local Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionary for reportedly demanding ₹1 lakh per month bribe from brick kiln operators to run the units without any political interference.

4. Teen boy murdered near Madurai Meenakshi Temple

A 17-year-old boy, A. Gubendran, was stabbed to death in the early hours at the Madurai Corporation’s shopping complex in the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple parking lot.

A scuffle with a person over buying bananas at his shop last month is said to have led to the murder.

5. Major fire at oil godown in Manali

A major fire accident occurred at a private oil godown in Manali. The personnel of Fire and Rescue Services have been fighting the fire since 11. 30 am.

According to sources, the blaze erupted at the warehouse, where waste oil and lubricant materials were allegedly stored. A few workers present at the premises noticed the fire and immediately evacuated. Officials said the fire intensified as oil cans stored inside the warehouse exploded repeatedly, making it difficult for personnel to approach the site initially.

6. IPS reshuffle: Arun posted as DVAC head

The Tamil Nadu government posted Additional Director-General of Police T.S. Anbu as the new ADGP, Law and Order, replacing Maheshwar Dayal. 

The State Government also posted the former Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun as ADGP, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai. He was in compulsory wait after the Election Commission of India (ECI) shifted him during the Model Code of Conduct ahead of Assembly election in the State. 

7. Couple killed as car submerges in flooded railway underpass

A retired Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) manager and his wife drowned after their car got submerged in rainwater stagnating in a railway underpass near Omalur in Salem district in the early hours.