At least six persons suffered injuries after a stampede-like situation emerged at a Yuvan Shankar Raja concert in Coimbatore. The concert was held on Saturday, October 8, at the SNS College of Arts and Science Saravanampatti of Coimbatore, between 3.30 and 4.30 pm. The injured include a woman Special Sub Inspector (SSI) attached to the Saravanampatti police station. Further, a perimeter wall collapsed during the incident as well, causing injuries.
The concert was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the college, and according to reports, Yuvan Shankar Raja had announced on his Instagram page that the first 1,000 people to reach the spot will get free admission. In a bid to gain free admission, more than 10,000 persons thronged the spot. The people reportedly tried to enter the campus even as the gates were being closed. The Hindu reported that in a bid to attend the concert for free, several people tried scaling and jumping over the compound wall, and as a result, caused it to collapse.Several persons were injured, including Special Sub Inspector (SSI) Phelomina (52), who was on-duty at the gate. All the injured were admitted to a private hospital. A probe has also been launched into the incident.
According to The New Indian Express, the police had said that they neither approved nor denied permission for the event, and added that the college did not make necessary arrangements to accommodate the crowd. The police added that even after the stampede situation, the programme was not stopped.