Tamil Nadu govt counters Vijay's Karur stampede claims with 'details'

Hours after Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay released a video address criticising the Tamil Nadu government’s handling of the September 27 stampede in Karur that killed 41 people, state authorities on Tuesday (September 30) held a detailed press conference at the secretariat at Fort St. George in Chennai to counter what it called fake news circulating on social media.

During the interaction, officials gave detailed clarifications on key factors such as venue safety, crowd estimate, police deployment, power supply, ambulance response and post-mortem procedures, using videos from both mainstream and social media platforms. The government framed questions based on public discussions and questioning on the above factors and responded to them.

Also read: Karur tragedy: Did TVK overlook cops' red flag?

Govt aims to bust myths

The government said that the press meet aimed to dispel myths and provide clarity on arrangements and decisions made both before and after one of the darkest tragedies in Tamil Nadu’s political history.

Among the officials who represented the state government were P Amudha IAS, official spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu government, Health Secretary P Senthil Kumar and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Davidson Devasirvatham.

Here are the questions and the government’s response to them.

Q: Did the government provide an unsafe venue for the meeting in Karur?

Before the event, meetings were held with all stakeholders to identify safe venues. Some places, such as near the Karur bus stand, were rejected because they were congested and affected businesses. The final venue at Velusamypuram was chosen as it had a 60-ft road, unlike the other two spots suggested by the TVK, which had only 40-ft roads.

Also read: Vijay speaks on Karur stampede tragedy, challenges Stalin govt

One of those was the Amaravathi River bridge, which would have worsened the risks. Predicting every consequence in advance is impossible, but Velusamypuram was considered safer. Even if 500 police personnel are deployed, the organisers and their volunteers also share responsibility for crowd discipline.

Q: Why didn’t the police or organisers estimate the crowd size properly?

The organisers estimated around 10,000 people. However, over 20,000 people turned up, many following Vijay’s vehicle from Namakkal and Trichy. Crowd-control norms require one policeman for every 20 people at high-risk gatherings, and one for every 50 at normal events. From noon to 5:30 pm, the situation was manageable, but after 6 pm, additional forces were brought in. In Karur, 1,082 police personnel were available, of which 500 were deployed at the venue, as we sensed this as a high-risk event.

Also read: How taxpayers end up paying for stampedes as parties shy away from insuring events

Q: Did a power cut trigger panic and cause the stampede?

Electricity Board officials clarified that there was no power cut from their side. The TVK had requested that lights be switched off during Vijay’s speech, and they had arranged their own focus lights. Even when these were switched off, there was no blackout as streetlights remained on.

Q: Was the stampede triggered by a lathi charge? Why were ambulances frequently entering the venue?

According to reports, the stampede began before Vijay’s speech when barricades collapsed and panic spread. The ambulances entered only after emergency calls were made through wireless communication. Initially, two of the seven party-arranged ambulances carried victims.

Also read: Karur stampede: Why child safety laws failed at Vijay’s rally

The first official call to 108 was made at 7.14 pm, and between 7.14 and 9.45 pm, 33 ambulances continuously evacuated the injured. When multiple casualties were reported, the mass casualty protocol was activated.

Q: Social media posts claim conducting post-mortems at night was against norms. Is that true?

There were already several bodies at Karur government hospital, and only three forensic medicine experts on site. But in mass casualty incidents, delaying post-mortems prolongs the families' distress. The Karur government hospital had 220 doctors and 165 nurses on duty. Additional doctors from Salem (where a medical conference was underway) and experts from six medical colleges were mobilised.

Also read: Karur stampede: Leaders avoid directly blaming Vijay

One hundred and fourteen doctors and 16 forensic medicine specialists in total were involved in this. Post-mortems were conducted as per protocol so that the victims’ bodies could be handed over quickly and respectfully.

Q: People argue the government failed in crowd control. Why was it not better anticipated?

Unfortunately, mass gatherings in Tamil Nadu have seen medical emergencies before. For example, 34 people fainted in Madurai during the TVK's conference in August but were safely discharged. In Madurai, Karur, Trichy, Ariyalur, and other districts, accidents and surges have occurred in past events.

Also read: Karur stampede: FIR blames TVK leader Vijay's 4-hour delay for chaos

Based on these experiences, the security was strengthened. Karur district has 1,082 police personnel, of which 500 were deployed at this event under high-risk protocols. Elaborate arrangements were made, but unexpected surges still caused the tragedy. The police even advised the TVK not to reach the exact venue at Velusamypuram but to give a speech before reaching it. But the organisers were not ready.