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A week after the deadly Karur stampede, the Madras High Court on Friday, October 3, constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident, which resulted in 41 deaths. Justice N Senthilkumar also came down strongly on actor-politician Vijay and the leadership of his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), stating that they had shown no remorse.
“The leader (Vijay) vanished and disappeared from the place of occurrence. Unfortunate to record that such a leadership is of poor quality,” the judge said. The judge also pulled up the state government for inadequate action, saying it appeared to be lenient towards the organisers of the rally.
The tragic stampede occurred on September 27 at Vijay’s TVK rally at Velusamypuram in Karur.
“The court cannot close its eyes nor remain a mute spectator or shirk its responsibility,” Justice Senthilkumar said while announcing the SIT, which will be led by Asra Garg, Inspector General of Police (North Zone).
The High Court constituted the SIT while hearing a petition filed by PH Dinesh, a Chennai resident, seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary and Director General of Police to take action against those responsible for the incident. The petitioner also sought a standard operating procedure (SOP) for such events, asking the court to halt all political rallies until then.
Condemning TVK leadership and Vijay for flouting conditions during the rally, Justice Senthilkumar reportedly said, “It is their responsibility to rescue the people when they are in peril; children and women lost their lives. But there is no remorse on their part.”
The judge also reportedly called the deaths a “huge man-made disaster.” “The court cannot close its eyes. The court cannot be a mute spectator. The court cannot shirk its responsibilities. The entire world has witnessed the sequences and consequences of the event,” Justice Senthilkumar said.
He showed visuals from Karur where TVK’s campaign bus was seen moving ahead in spite of two-wheelers being caught under it, and questioned why no FIR had been registered over it. The judge said, “It appears the State is showing leniency toward the organisers of the event.”
So far, police have registered nine FIRs against TVK members over the incident, including TVK Karur district secretary Mathiyalagan, state general secretary Bussy Anand, and joint secretary CTR Nirmalkumar.