'Vijay arrived 4hrs late, crowd grew restless': Karur stampede FIR
What's the story
Actor-politician Vijay sat inside his campaign van in Velusamypuram in Karur for an extended period during his September 27 rally, causing restlessness among the crowd, according to an FIR into the stampede. The stampede in Karur killed 41 people. The FIR stated that the rally was scheduled to begin at 9:00am and Vijay was scheduled to speak at noon but only arrived at 7:00pm causing unnecessary delays. Vijay was campaigning for his TVK party ahead of the state elections.
Roof collapse
TVK workers breached police barricades
"Instead of conducting the event on time, Vijay's entry into Karur was delayed by four hours to show a massive crowd as a political statement, leading to thousands of people standing in the sun and getting exhausted," the FIR read. His campaign bus also allegedly made unscheduled stops, disrupting traffic and violating crowd control measures, the police said. The police had anticipated a crowd of 10,000 but over 25,000 people attended the rally.
Event
3 key TVK functionaries in FIR
To get a glimpse of Vijay, TVK workers had breached police barricades and climbed on a shed's tin, leading to a tragic collapse that killed several. Three TVK key functionaries have been named in the FIR: the party's Karur North district secretary Mathiazhagan, state general secretary Bussy Anand, and deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar. Police authorities reportedly warned them that the situation was out of control and could lead to suffocation and harm, but their warnings were ignored.
Investigation demand
TVK accuses DMK of conspiracy
The incident has sparked political tensions between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the TVK. The TVK has accused the DMK of conspiring against them and demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Their lawyer, Arivazhagan, said, "There was a conspiracy, a criminal conspiracy in the incident at Karur." Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged calm and asked people not to spread rumors about the tragedy.
Petition filed
Petition filed in Madras High Court
A TVK leader, Aadhav Arjun, has also filed a petition in the Madras High Court alleging a "political conspiracy by the DMK." He claimed power was cut during Vijay's speech, causing panic and chaos. However, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) clarified that there was no power cut while Vijay was delivering his speech. The engineer said a request for a temporary power shutdown had been received from TVK on September 26 but was rejected.
Compensation details
Compensation for families of deceased
In the wake of the tragedy, Vijay announced financial assistance of ₹20 lakh to the families of those who died and ₹2 lakh to the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced ₹2 lakh each for the families of those who died from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. A separate petition has been filed against Vijay to stop him from holding any public gatherings till the probe is completed.