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During the Tamil Nadu Assembly session on October 15, Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the Karur stampede occurred due to Vijay’s nearly seven-hour delayed arrival at the rally venue.
41 people, including nine children, died on September 27 at Karur district’s Veluchamypuram during a rally organised by actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
The CM offered condolences to the victims and grieving families during his speech. He added that permissions for locations initially requested by TVK, such as Lighthouse Corner and the Uzhavar Santhai (farmers’ market), were not granted based on estimated crowds and security concerns.
Stalin also said that permission was finally granted for Veluchamypuram on September 27 with 11 conditions.
“Over 500 police personnel were deployed. A higher number of police personnel were deployed than is usual for political functions. Even though the organisers expected only 10,000 attendees, police estimated higher numbers and prepared accordingly,” the CM said.
He further said, “Permission was requested only from 3 pm to 10 pm, but TVK’s general secretary (Bussy Anand) told the press that the party president (Vijay) would arrive at Kaur at 12 pm. Because of this, people began arriving at Karur in the morning. However, the party president left Chennai only at 8:40 am and arrived at Trichy airport at 9:20 am. After participating at the Namakkal rally, he arrived at Kaur at 7 pm. That is, he arrived around seven hours later than the time that was announced. This became an important reason for the stampede.”
He went on to say, “There are many of you here from various parties. You all know that rally organisers have to undertake certain important measures. These measures were not undertaken at Karur. Drinking water or food was not arranged for the waiting public. Women were not able to access toilets.”
He also recalled that “Two days before the stampede, on September 25, the leader of opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), held a rally at the same location. Proper measures were taken at this rally and it took place without any untoward incidents. 12,000 to 15,000 people participated. Around 137 police personnel were deployed.”
Criticising Vijay’s party, Stalin said, “The [TVK] rally was the complete opposite of this. As there were large crowds at the rally venue and many others following the campaign vehicle, police asked the organisers to speak near Akshna hospital. The organisers refused, saying they would only speak at the permitted venue.”
Stalin added, “The Karur SP requested TVK’s joint general secretary (CTR Nirmalkumar) on multiple occasions to stop the campaign vehicle and begin the party president’s speech. As the campaign vehicle moved 30 to 30 metres away from Akshna hospital, disregarding police measures, the two sets of crowds came together. Crowd crushes occurred in several locations. Women and children suffered from panic, breathing difficulties, congestion and fainting spells. Several people fell down and were stepped on. One section of the crowd tried to exit through the generator area. To prevent electrocutions, the generator operator cut the power.”
The CM also addressed rumours regarding ambulances and attacks on ambulance drivers.
“Police called for ambulances from nearby hospitals after people at the venue fainted from exhaustion and crowd congestion. Ambulances arrived only to save these people. No ambulances entered the area before the stampede occurred. The police, the fire department and ambulance personnel transported injured people to nearby hospitals. Two TVK cadres attacked an ambulance and vandalised the vehicle, interfering with rescue efforts. Two police complaints were lodged due to this at Karur. One of the accused has surrendered and another has been arrested,” Stalin said.
The CM added that the state government took immediate action after being alerted to the stampede and deaths.
He also said that the first injured person from the rally was admitted at the Karur government general hospital at 7:47 pm, following which over 200 people were admitted. 152 doctors from Salem, Namakkal, Trichy, Dindigul, Madurai, Coimbatore, Pudhukottai and other districts came in to administer medical care.