- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Mon, 29 Sep 2025 07:26 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Actor-politician Vijay has been blamed for staying inside the vehicle during his campaign at the venue, Velusamypuram, for an extended period, which led to overcrowding and chaos, thereby causing a fatal stampede in Karur, according to an FIR. So far, no case has been registered against Vijay. But three of his core party members, district secretary for Karur North Mathiazhagan, party's state general secretary Bussy Anand, and TVK deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar, have been booked in connection with the stampede.
The three party functionaries have been booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125 (endangering life of others), and 223 (disobedience to order), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Preventing of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992, a police official said.
A committee headed by Justice (retired) Aruna Jagadeesan is investigating the case. The judge interacted with the patients at the government hospital and later said that she would submit a detailed report to the government once the probe was completed. The death toll increased to 41 on Monday.
The police have warned Vijay not to visit the victims of the stampede to maintain the law and order situation, an anonymous TVK source, cited by news agency PTI, said.
What FIR Reveals?
As per the FIR, Vijay had remained inside his campaign vehicle at the venue for a long time, leading to overcrowding and restlessness among the crowd that had gathered.
The police added that the stampede broke out when the crowd pushed forward to catch a glimpse of Vijay. The venue, being too narrow for the large turnout, quickly became overcrowded, leading to people being trampled. To bring the situation under control, authorities resorted to a lathi-charge. Many who collapsed during the chaos were promptly taken to Karur Government Hospital. According to the FIR, the crowd climbed over steel sheds and trees to get a better view, and when these collapsed, they fell on the crowd below, resulting in the fatal stampede.
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DMK Chief Visits Stampede Victims
Chief Minister M K Stalin, who had visited the victims, announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the affected families. Also, he had assured to take appropriate action based on the findings of the Commission.
Meanwhile, former Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan has said that the one-member committee might turn out to be ineffective and partial. "I have been in the administration. I can say that the Commission's probe would not be partial because there has been a police intelligence failure. The police failed to take note of the swelling numbers at the rally spot," Soundararajan told reporters in Chennai.
Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, who met the affected families, demanded a probe by a central agency.
"The power went off within minutes after the meeting concluded, and when it returned, people had already started rushing. The truth will emerge only when the matter is investigated thoroughly by a central agency," Sasikala told reporters.
With inputs from PTI