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Actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party has reportedly decided to move the Madras High Court seeking an independent probe into the Karur stampede, which claimed 39 lives and left many others injured.
According to reports, the petition is to be filed before Justice M Dhandapani at his residence on Greenways Road, Chennai. The party is expected to request the court to take up the matter suo motu and issue directions to preserve all related evidence, including CCTV footage. Earlier, the CPI(M) had also urged the court to take suo motu cognisance of the incident.
The stampede occurred during Vijay’s rally on Saturday, September 27, where at least 39 people, including children, lost their lives. Over 50 people are currently undergoing treatment.
In response, the Tamil Nadu government has set up a Commission of Inquiry headed by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan. The state has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against TVK functionaries at the Karur city police station. Those named in the FIR include Madhiazhagan, district secretary for Karur North; Bussy Anand, general secretary; CTR Nirmal Kumar, joint general secretary; and several others. They have been booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125 (endangering life of others), and 223 (disobedience to order) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 223 of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), while the injured will receive Rs 50,000.