Overcrowded rally of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief and actor Vijay, in Karur district, Tamil Nadu, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Tragedy struck actor-politician Vijay’s overcrowded public rally in Karur on Saturday evening, with at least 39 people, including 16 women and eight children, losing their lives after they collapsed at the venue due to a stampede. The death toll is likely to rise further as about 111 people are injured and are receiving treatment at the Karur government hospital and in private hospitals.
As the crowd jostled with each other to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, chaos broke out at the venue as Vijay started speaking from atop a specially designed bus for his election campaign. Eyewitnesses said several people, especially women and children, began fainting due to overcrowding, even as siren sounds of ambulances were heard from about 7.30 pm.
“Most of the victims were declared dead on arrival at the Karur hospital,” Health Minister Ma Subramanian said. The likely cause of death is suffocation, as people waited for over four hours for Vijay to arrive from neighbouring Namakkal district and moved in one direction when his bus arrived at the venue.
R Venkataraman, DGP (incharge) told reporters in Karur that the death toll stood at 39. Out of 39, as many as 35 bodies have been identified while four remain unidentified so far.
Of the dead whose identities have been ascertained, 28 from Karur, two each from Dindigul, Tirupur, and Erode and one from Salem.
While 50 injured are admitted to the Karur government hospital, 61 persons are receiving treatment in private hospitals.
Vijay didn’t visit the hospital or meet the injured and instead chose to fly back to Chennai. He posted a terse statement on his X page, four hours after the tragedy, to say that his “heart is shattered.”
“I am writhing in pain and sorrow that cannot be described in words,” Vijay, who avoided reporters at the Tiruchirapalli airport, added.
President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are among those who condoled the loss of lives.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, who rushed to Tiruchirapalli in a chartered flight and was on his way to reach Karur to meet relatives of the victims, announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the dead and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.
Stalin also held a high-level meeting with Chief Secretary N Muruganandam and senior officials to take stock of the situation emerging from the stampede. He also announced a judicial commission headed by former judge Aruna Jagadeesan to look into the incident.
The loss of lives raised questions over the preparedness of the organisers and the district police in providing adequate security for the rally — Vijay’s rallies in the past two Saturdays have been drawing huge crowds. Sources said police did contact Vijay’s team at around 6 pm and asked to reach the venue as early as possible since the crowd was uncontrollable.
While government sources blamed the organisers, saying they sought permission for the rally by putting the expected crowds at 10,000 only, Vijay’s supporters pinned the blame on the police for not providing enough protection for the expected crowds.
Heart rendering scenes were witnessed at the Karur government hospital, with wails of women being heard after losing their loved ones. Children had also accompanied women to the public rally. Sources told DH that the crowd at the Karur rally could easily be over 30,000 people, and one could only see human heads to the extent one’s eyes could stretch.
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.
Moving swiftly, the state government rushed Subramanian from Chennai and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi from Tiruchirapalli to Karur to monitor the situation. Stalin also ordered Collectors from neighbouring Tiruchirapalli and Namakkal to rush to Karur to help the district administration provide help to the injured.
ADGP (Law and Order) Davidson Devaasirvatham said about 400 more policemen are being rushed to Karur to handle the situation. “We already have about 500 people,” he said.