Karur stampede: Political blame game continues amid TVK’s sabotage claim

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan on Sunday said he felt very sad over the stampede and urged citizens to control their emotions when there is a big crowd.

“This is very unfortunate, so many young people have died, I feel very sad. It is my humble request to the people that they control their emotions when there is a big crowd. A similar incident had taken place in Bengaluru after a cricket match. I hope these things never happen again,” he said.

MDMK MP Durai Vaiko says, “It is a terrible tragedy that has not only shaken Tamil Nadu but has probably shaken the entire nation... This is not the first time such an incident has happened. It has happened so many times, not only in Tamil Nadu but across the nation. A few months ago, during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, the same incident occurred... Then, in Bangalore, during the IPL victory celebration, such an incident happened. The people who organise such events should ensure that the function happens within the ambit of the law... The public should also have awareness...”

DMK MP Kanimozhi says, "The chief minister has ensured that the district missionary and the party missionary are here to support... Even if the prime minister or the chief minister comes for a political rally, the party has to follow certain conditions. There's no one above it... A one-woman commission has been appointed by the CM in this matter... Let her report come out..."

Madras High Court decides to urgently hear a petition, filed by a Karur resident who participated in Saturday's TVK rally, to forbid the DGP from granting permissions to the party for any further public meetings. Justice N Senthilkumar to hear the plea.

DMK MP Kanimozhi reaches Government Medical College and Hospital, where those injured in the Karur stampede are undergoing treatment.

K Rajalakshmi, a senior official with the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), has rejected claims of power disruption during Vijay’s Karur rally.

“Uninterrupted electricity was supplied throughout Vijay’s campaign; there were no outages anywhere,” she asserted, labelling as “misinformation” the circulating reports to the contrary. Rajalakshmi attributed a brief glitch to a generator at the venue, which tripped due to the crowd pressing too close to the equipment.

At Velusamy Puram, TVK representatives had even requested a temporary power cut citing public safety risks from overhanging wires, but TANGEDCO declined. “For safety reasons, we allowed a short trip in the power line,” she explained.

With police assistance, TVK cadres who had climbed trees to get a better view were safely removed, after which services were restored, she said.

ADGP Law and Order, S Davidson Devasirvatham says, “...they (TVK) requested permission to conduct this event at a place called Light House Raundana. This was not accepted by the police because it was considered a high-risk place, with a petrol pump on the left and the Amaravati River bridge on the right. So, the officers decided it was not advisable to give permission there.

“Then, they requested another place and that was also inspected, and they were told that the capacity of people they were going to bring would not be able to be accommodated there. So, keeping this as an alternative, we suggested this place because recently a political party had organised an event there with about 12,000 to 15,000 people, and it had passed off very peacefully.

“So, they also went and saw the place. Finally, they agreed. They gave us in writing that they could be allowed to hold the event there... No, it was not an intelligence failure... There were adequate streetlights there... Yes, some conditions were violated. A case has been registered and the investigation will reveal who all are involved.”

"It is deeply saddening and painful. Incidents of people losing their lives in crowd crushes continue to occur in India. Those who organised the event seem to have been negligent. It must be noted that the organisers lacked the administrative capacity to control the crowd... Whether the police were properly deployed for security will only be known after the inquiry. The lack of second-tier leaders and administrators in TVK is what led to this tragedy. I have no doubt about the public support they enjoy. My doubt is only about whether there is leadership...," says Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.

Mounds of shoes and chappals, crushed water bottles, torn TVK party flags, pieces of clothes, broken poles, shreds of paper sprayed from party poppers and striking garbage of all sorts at the venue on Sunday only served as a reminder of the tragic incident the evening before.

Several people had their own claims about the reason behind the stampede, and it is not clear what went wrong; whether it was the choice of the venue or overcrowding, which is being witnessed ever since Vijay launched his state-wide tour on September 13.

A young man, among the crowd at the stampede spot, who managed to safely get out, claimed that several people were pushed to a “low-lying sewerage” close to the road margin as many tried to get out at the same time. He regretted that what began as a “celebration time” to hail their beloved matinee idol ended in tragedy.

“As fans were chanting Vijay’s name, several did not realize that it was a stampede and that people fell down. Many who happened to place their legs on people who fell down also tripped over them,” he told reporters.

At the venue, people pushed away the tin sheets used as barricades and to make enclosures, and many who climbed on to thatched roof structures nearby fell down and suffered injuries. Almost at the same time, police baton-charged to control the situation.

However, people, including children, who were caught in the crowd and fell down, could not comprehend what was happening.

A senior citizen in his 70s said he has never seen so many people getting killed in a stampede at a political party’s event and blamed the youths for their overenthusiasm to somehow take a look at the actor.

Staff at the Karur government hospital themselves were rattled by the ceaseless siren of ambulances bringing injured people. Policemen pitched in by carrying the victims to the wards. Visuals of inconsolable men and women holding motionless children shook hearts.

Police repeated lathi-charge nearly an hour following the stampede to chase away the remaining crowds from the venue. Following the stampede, Vijay left the venue and did not meet reporters waiting at Tiruchirappalli and Chennai airports.