Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief and actor Vijay pauses his speech after a stampede-like situation was witnessed during the rally, in Karur district, Tamil Nadu.
Credit: PTI Photo
Karur: The identity of 38 of the 39 people who died due to the stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s public rally here on Sunday have been ascertained. The process of handing over bodies to their relatives after postmortem has begun.
While 39 people died, as many as 111 people are currently receiving treatment at the Karur government hospital and in private hospitals. Sources said only one person among the injured was in critical condition, while others are stable.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, who rushed to Karur, paid last respects to the victims at the government hospital in the wee hours of Sunday. He also met the injured and wished them speedy recovery.
Terming the incident as “ghastly”, Stalin such incidents should never recur in the future. Asked whether the police will arrest Vijay for the incident, Stalin replied that he will not answer questions with political motives.
“I repeat that we have appointed a one man commission headed by retired justice Aruna Jagadeesan. We will wait for the findings of the commission. Once that is available, we will take action accordingly,” Stalin said.
Except a brief statement on X platform by Vijay, there was no response on the tragedy from TVK leaders.
Eyewitnesses said power shut down during Vijay’s speech, and his voice not being audible due to a faulty microphone were some of the reasons for the stampede. “We all were waiting for Vijay. The power went off, and since he was speaking through a faulty microphone, we all moved to the front to listen to him. That is also one of the reasons for the stampede,” Sunitha, a resident of Karur, said.
The tragedy occurred despite the police imposing over 20 conditions on the organisers as huge crowds have been thronging Vijay’s public rallies.