Karur: Discarded footwear, torn party flags and crumpled shirts lay scattered on the roadside at Velusamypuram in Tamil Nadu’s Karur Sunday, a day after actor-turned-politician Vijay’s rally ended in a stampede that has claimed 41 lives, including those of 16 women and six children. The stampede has left the small textile town stunned.
Vijay’s late arrival to the venue, his frenzied fan base and poor crowd management are being cited as among the reasons behind the tragedy, even as the state police department and Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party continue to trade blame.
The tragedy unfolded when thousands of supporters surged forward as Vijay’s campaign van entered the Velusamypuram locality in Karur late Saturday evening.
What had begun as an atmosphere of celebration soon turned into chaos and grief, residents of the area recalled to ThePrint.
“Vijay was supposed to be here at 12 pm, and so I came here at 12:30 pm along with my family. We were all enjoying Vijay’s famous movie songs and everything was fine in the afternoon. But, as Vijay did not reach the venue on time, things got worse. Since I was with my family, we returned home in the afternoon around 2,” recalled Sundaram.
For the 40-year-old Karur resident, catching a glimpse of Vijay at close quarters had been a lifelong dream. While some including Sundaram believe the delay on Vijay’s part resulted in crowd swelling and the resultant stampede, others blamed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led government in Tamil Nadu and the state police department for not taking appropriate crowd control measures that could have averted tragedy.
M. Silambarasan, another resident of Karur district, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him to see Vijay, not just as a star but as a political leader.
“But what should have been a lifetime memory turned out to be a black day in the history of Karur district. Yesterday, I came here in the evening at 6 o’clock. I came here eagerly to see Vijay and to know what he says as a politician. But it is a complete failure of the district administration,” Silambarasan told ThePrint Sunday, standing near the Velusamypuram road where footwear and shirts lay abandoned.
The police department, on its part, claims the TVK misled people by giving them a different timing for the rally and then securing permission for it for a different time. Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Director General of Police in-charge G. Venkatraman said Vijay’s TVK had permission to campaign in Karur between 3 pm and 10 pm Saturday.
“However, they (TVK) shared on their social media handles stating that Vijay would campaign in Karur at 12 pm. This is what led people to come early and the crowd started to pour in several hours before he reached the spot,” he said.
ThePrint reached TVK functionaries for comment via phone calls but no was willing to speak on record. A senior party leader, however, blamed the police for not cooperating with the party ever since Vijay began his campaign.
“It is not just campaigns. Even in conferences, the police were not cooperating with us. The crowd that gathers for Vijay comprises not just TVK members who will obey party functionaries, but a huge fan base that he has in the state. They don’t heed party functionaries’ word and they can be controlled only by the police,” said the TVK leader.
Karur police have filed a case against TVK general secretary Bussy Anand, deputy general secretary C.T. Nirmal Kumar and Karur district secretary Mathiazhagan under Sections 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125 (acts of rashness or negligence endangering human life), and 223 (disobedience to an order issued by a public authority) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3 of Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act.
While Vijay has not been named in the FIR, Tamil Nadu-based political analysts ThePrint spoke to said the tragedy could cast a shadow on his political career. “In Tamil Nadu politics, symbolism matters. The first big campaign sets the tone. For this to end in deaths is a huge setback. TVK’s response to the crisis will determine whether it recovers or gets branded as irresponsible,” said political analyst Tharasu Shyam.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has, meanwhile, announced that a one-woman commission headed by retired Madras HC judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan will probe the matter. The state government has also announced ex gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of victims and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured. Vijay too expressed grief over the deaths and announced ex gratia compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the kin of victims.
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‘Are our lives so cheap?’
Karur, known for its textile units, had never before seen such a massive political gathering. TVK mobilised buses from Tiruppur, Erode, Namakkal and surrounding areas. Party flags, drums, and cultural performances turned Velusamypuram into a carnival ground by noon.
Even as hundreds of youngsters danced to the tunes of Vijay’s famous numbers in Karur, the actor-turned-politician had yet to reach his preceding stop, Namakkal, where he was supposed to address crowds at 8:45 am that morning.
After wrapping up his campaign in Namakkal at 3:30 pm, Vijay rushed to Karur, which is around 40 km away, reaching the Velusamypuram venue only by 6 pm.
“He reached Karur roundana at 6 pm, which is 1.5 km from the scheduled venue at Velusamypuram, and then took more than an hour to reach the venue. All along, Vijay, who was seated in the front of the bus, shut his side window to avoid attention and people,” said Karthik Raja, who was standing at the roundana that evening to catch a glimpse of the actor.
According to eyewitnesses, many who had gathered from the roundana all the way to Velusamypuram pushed forward and cramped on the 60-feet road of Velusamypuram just to see Vijay. Sathish Kumar, a 23-year-old who waited for Vijay at a spot between the roundana and Velusamypuram, said the rally soon turned into a nightmare.
“I came for the conference. People crushed me in the crowd. I could not see Vijay. He was sitting in the bus and did not come out until he had reached the scheduled spot. A mother and daughter were crushed in the crowd. I rescued the mother, but could not save her child. They were admitted to hospital,” said Sathish, still visibly shaken.
Sundaram, who returned to Velusamypuram in the evening, hopeful that the wait would finally pay off, said that after waiting another two hours, he sent his family back home before waiting for Vijay’s arrival. This was around 7 pm. “Vijay took more than one-and-a-half hour to reach the venue from the bypass road. Until he reached, there was no issue. Only after the van entered and people saw him that the stampede occurred,” he recalled.
According to Sundaram, the crowd at the venue was already out of control and when people who followed Vijay’s convoy all the way also joined the ugathering, chaos ensued.
“The moment Vijay came out from the bus and showed his face, the crowd started to pull and push to have a look at him. At the same time, there was a power cut and in between, there was some lathi-charge and people started to fall on the parked two-wheelers, leading to chaos,” Sundaram said.
Other eyewitnesses said women and children who had fallen down were trampled by the crowd pressing from behind. In the confusion, cries for help were drowned out by slogans hailing Vijay. Motorcycles parked along the roadside toppled, adding to the confusion.
Those who managed to escape unhurt argued it Vijay could not have been aware of the unfolding chaos from where he was.
“We were not at all within his sight. People were falling on parked vehicles somewhere and he was facing the other side and addressing the crowd. Some of them were fainting in the direction of his address and he helped them with water bottles before stopping his speech halfway,” said Karur resident Silambarasan, who had been waiting for Vijay since 5 pm.
Silambarasan, too, pointed to lack of police arrangements at the venue. “When a political leader comes, there should be more police protection. Only the police can give protection. More than a political party leader, he is a famous actor. So, fans will come to look at him eagerly. Police have the responsibility to protect the people, but they failed,” he asserted.
While some directed their anger at the Tamil Nadu government, others were miffed at Vijay and the organisers. “Why did they keep us waiting for hours? Why did they not think of water, toilets or safety? Are our lives so cheap?” asked R. Meenakshi, a relative of one of the victims from Namakkal.
Meenakshi is now waiting for her brother to be discharged from the Government Medical College Hospital, Karur.
TVK, cops trade blame over Karur stampede
While CM Stalin has said he would not make any political comments until findings of the inquiry are in, TVK functionaries and the police department are trading charges over the stampede. On social media, TVK supporters blamed the police for not providing enough protection and assigning a cramped location for Vijay’s rally. The DGP responded by saying they assigned a venue which was more comfortable than those suggested by TVK leaders.
According to Venkataraman, the TVK had first requested the Lighthouse Roundtana area for the venue. “That location was rejected because it was a high-risk zone. There is a petrol bunk on one side and a bridge over the Amaravathi river on the other. Similarly, the Uzhavar Sandhai area is very narrow and not feasible for a large gathering,” he said.
Instead, police approved Velusamypuram locality for the rally on 26 September, which the TVK itself had suggested. “This venue had already been used for earlier meetings, including one that drew around 12,000 people. It was considered relatively safe,” Venkataraman said. He also rejected the claim that too few policemen were deployed at the site.
“For such events, we categorise venues as low, medium, or high risk and deploy accordingly. In Karur, we had deployed three additional superintendents of police, four deputy superintendents of police, seven inspectors and 58 sub-inspectors and nearly 500 personnel. This is far above the 137 policemen deployed just two days earlier for opposition leader Edappadi Palaniswami’s rally at the same ground,” Venkataraman told the media.
He added that in other TVK events too, police deployment had been proportionate, with 650 personnel in Tiruchirappalli, 287 in Ariyalur, 480 in Perambalur, 410 in Nagapattinam, 413 in Tiruvarur and 279 in Namakkal.
AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami too accused the DMK government of “failing” to provide enough protection to people and being “biased” to political parties. “When a person of Vijay’s stature, both as a cinema icon and now as a political leader, addresses the public, lakhs will gather. Was the government not aware? Why did they fail to provide sufficient security and facilities?” he asked, speaking to reporters in Karur Sunday morning.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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