A stampede at a rally for Tamil actor-politician Vijay in Karur on Saturday night ended in tragedy, with at least 35 dead, including six children, and dozens more with serious injuries, many in critical condition.
The rally, which drew thousands of supporters who had been waiting since noon, came as police said a stampede broke out around 7:30 p.m. when Vijay was ready to speak. The actor, popular with crowds, arrived in Karur at night after leading a morning rally in Namakkal, and he found the grounds packed with people.
While Vijay was speaking on stage, ambulances struggled to reach the chaotic scene through the throng of people. Eyewitnesses said it was pandemonium; children were crying away from their parents, and people were clutching each other and falling all around. Doctors at Karur Government Hospital confirmed that, of the 35 dead, more than a dozen were women. Emergency responders worked through the night to stabilize the injured.
Government Response to the Karur Rally Stampede
Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed “deep anguish” over the disaster, ordering immediate relief efforts. Health Minister Ma Subramaniam, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and Additional Director General of Police Davidson travelled to Karur. One of the former ministers, V Senthil Balaji, was also asked to take care of the situation.
“All the doctors on duty should report right now,” Subramaniam said in a late-night media meet addressing the urgency for the medical address.
As the tragedy took place, Vijay still went on speaking and departed Karur by chartered flight. His aides later added that he did not realize how bad the deaths there were at the time.
Police and Opposition Views
It has also added longstanding tension between Vijay’s camp and the state government. At the most recent functions, he had mocked police regarding the limitations of his movement, explaining officers cut his microphone and told him not to wave, or smile, or even get off his campaign bus. In one speech, in Ariyalur, he spoke directly to Stalin, using sarcasm: “CM sir, are you threatening me? You got it wrong.”
At the Karur rally, Vijay initially thanked police for escorting him safely to the grounds; however, he subsequently indicated once more that the police should not have imposed unreasonable restraints on him. A police official responded to the aforementioned incident, saying that previous rallies had come to grief when onlookers became rowdy.
“It’s also unfortunate that he is playing the blame game against us again now, which today has ended up with the biggest tragedy,” said one senior police official.
By contrast, prior to this, the AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami had conducted a rally at the same location on September 25, much to the police’s satisfaction. According to law enforcement officials, many party fans had followed him in a motorcade from Namakkal, ignoring the routers and securing a very dangerous situation.
The events of this past Saturday have now become one of the most horrible political rallies and township stampedes in recent history in Tamil Nadu. Families of the deceased mourn, while hospitals work to save the injured. Officials have launched investigations into the tragedy, similar to previous rampages, highlighting the urgent need for better crowd management at political rallies.
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