Karur Stampede Took Place As Vijay’s Delay Drew Crowd From Next Campaign Stop, Say Police

Tamil Nadu Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Davidson Devasirvatham rejected the stone pelting claims made by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Sunday, asserting instead that the stampede occurred due to Vijay's late arrival.

Speaking at a press conference, ADGP Devasirvatham said that the event had been delayed by several hours and there was no stone pelting.

He explained that there was another rally of Vijay in Namakkal, and because of the delay, the crowd from Namakkal also converged to the Karur venue.

This convergence resulted in an overwhelming crowd, which became difficult for the police to control and ultimately caused a stampede that has killed 40 so far.

The ADGP said, "Because the Namakkal campaign was delayed, he (Vijay) reached the Karur venue only by 6 pm. The crowd began to swell rapidly, with people from both Namakkal and Karur gathering to see him... Everybody wants to see their leader and they are pushing towards the vehicle. That's because there are a lot of youngsters who are not even willing to listen to anybody, even to the volunteers, the bouncers, whoever they bring them".

Earlier, Vijay's TVK claimed that stone pelting during the rally triggered a stampede. TVK has also moved to the Madras High Court seeking an independent investigation, without the involvement of a state agency.

The ADSP further added that TVK had sought permission for a gathering of 12,000 people, and the sufficient police deployment was made accordingly.

The ADGP accused the TVK organisers of ignoring the request to hold the speech in areas with fewer people. “Organisers refused the officers’ suggestion. Additionally, there was no light inside Vijay’s bus, so the crowd could not see him and began moving along with the bus.”