Karur stampede: BJP forms 8-member fact-finding committee to probe the incident

New Delhi: The BJP has formed a 8-member fact-finding committee with members from NDA allies to investigate the stampede in Karur which left 41 dead at a rally by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader, actor-politician Vijay.

The committee, to be headed by Hema Malini, will travel to Tamil Nadu to investigate the circumstances that led to the stampede.

While BJP MP Hema Malini will be the convenor, BJP MPs Anurag Thakur, Tejasvi Surya, Aprajita Sarangi, Rekha Sharma, Brij Lal, will be members of the committee, in addition to Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde and TDP’s Putta Mahesh Kumar.

The panel will meet affected families and submit a report soon, BJP president JP Nadda said while announcing the panel.

The stampede occurred at the rally due to unconfirmed causes – some said that a generator going off led to panic after Vijay landed on the stage, while some others said that lathi charge by the police led to it.

Tamil Nadu DGP said that over 27,000 people had convened at the rally which was equipped to handle 10,000 people.

The BJP on Monday sent finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, its key Tamil face, to Karur. Accompanied by MoS Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, she said she was “shocked” at what happened. “I couldn’t even console the families, most are poor and grieving deeply,” she said.