Chennai/ Guwahati: A massive tragedy unfolded at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party chief Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar’s rally in Tamil Nadu yesterday evening. The actor-turned-politician held a political rally in the run-up to next year’s Assembly elections where a massive crowd turned up before a stampede broke out, resulting in the death of 39 people including childrens and leaving many others injured.
In a post on X, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin yesterday evening stated, “The news coming from Karur is deeply concerning. I have instructed the Ministers, the officials concerned and others to go to Karur immediately and also instructed them to go to the hospital and meet the victims and their families and take measures to stabilize the situation there. I also request the public to cooperate with the doctors and the police”.
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The Tamil Nadu CM has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to those injured in the stampede.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones. Wishing strength to them in this difficult time. Praying for a swift recovery to all those injured”.
A tweet on X by Rahul Gandhi read, “Deeply saddened by the tragic incident at a political rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, that has taken so many precious lives. My heart goes out to their loved ones, and I wish a swift recovery to all those injured”.
Vijay’s supporters had been waiting for him since six hours. However, he arrived late in the rally making the crowd swell uncontrollably. Initially he was scheduled to arrive at the venue by 12:30 pm but he reached the venue at around 7:40 pm.
According to the officials involved, “38 people had died and 46 others injured”. However, according to latest reports available, one more succumbed to his injuries at the hospital taking the death tally to 39.
As per the DGP in charge of Tamil Nadu, G. Venkatraman, “This is a deeply tragic incident. So far, 38 people have died: 12 men, 16 women and 10 children (5 boys & 5 girls). The public turnout this time at the rally of TVK party was much higher than anticipated. Though the organisers of the event had requested for a larger ground in Karur anticipating around 10,000 people, nearly 27, 000 gathered at the campaign venue where actor turned politician Vijay was to address the public”.
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Police officials present there in Karur at the rally while speaking to the media said, “Some people had fainted at a point where large numbers had surged forward, triggering the stampede. At least 30,000 people had gathered at the venue where Vijay was scheduled to speak after his earlier rally in Namakkal”.
Videos showed – Vijay stopping his speech and throwing water bottles at the crowd to help, as the crowd swelled and people started getting suffocated because of the heat and overcrowding.
After the incident, Vijay went to the airport in Trichy and took a flight to Chennai declining to speak in front of the media and hiding his face from the cameras at the airport. Later when he reached Chennai, he spoke on the incident stating, “My heart is shattered, writhing in pain”.
The Tamil Nadu Police have filed a case against Muthiyazhagan, the Karur district secretary of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party for organising the event.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also sought a detailed report from the Tamil Nadu Government on the incident.
