Karur stampede: Vijay remained inside campaign vehicle, leading to overcrowding and restlessness, says FIR

Chennai: Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay “deliberately” delayed his arrival at a public rally in Karur by making unscheduled stops and conducting roadshows to “display his political strength,” even as party leaders took no effort to control the “unruly” behaviour of their cadres, according to the FIR filed by the police.

The FIR, filed at 9:45 pm on Saturday by G. Manivannan, Inspector of Police, Karur, does not name Vijay, but mentions his party colleagues: TVK’s Karur (North) district secretary Madhiazhagan, general secretary Bussy Anand, and joint general secretary C T R Nirmal Kumar, as the accused.The three have been booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125 (endangering life of others), and 223 (disobedience) of the BNS, and section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992.

Continuing to distance the government from the incident, Chief Minister M K Stalin released a video stating that such a tragedy should never happen again.

The police had yesterday squarely placed responsibility for the stampede on TVK and Vijay.

“No political party leader would ever wish for their followers or innocent civilians to die. In this incident, regardless of which party the deceased belonged to, as far as I am concerned, they are all our Tamil brethren. Therefore, in this time of grief and mourning, I earnestly request everyone to refrain from spreading irresponsible and malicious news,” he said.

On Monday, Chennai Police also arrested three persons, including two TVK cadres, for spreading rumours regarding the Karur tragedy on social media.The FIR, a copy of which was accessed by DH, stated that Karur police gave permission to TVK for a public rally in Velusamypuram in the city between 3 pm and 10 pm, subject to 11 conditions.

However, several television channels began reporting on Saturday morning that Vijay would address the public rally in Karur at 12 pm, prompting people to arrive at the spot from 10 am. Almost all satellite Tamil channels provided minute-by-minute coverage of Vijay’s tour.

“At 4:45 pm, Vijay reached Velayudhampalayam on the outskirts of Karur via Thavuttupalayam and deliberately delayed his arrival at Velusamypuram by holding roadshows without permission at various locations, causing heavy traffic snarls and inconveniencing people,” the FIR stated. TVK cadres organized welcome ceremonies for Vijay, defying the conditions, the FIR added, noting that the actor-politician reached Velusamypuram Junction at 7 pm and parked his specially designed bus amid his cadres.

“They deliberately slowed down the vehicle by stopping it at many places. A huge crowd was waiting in the area for Vijay’s arrival,” according to the FIR.

At this point, the FIR mentioned, the inspector and DSP (Karur) issued multiple warnings to Madhiazhagan, Anand, and Kumar that the deliberate delay was creating an “unusual” situation that could lead to loss of lives due to suffocation.

“They did not listen to us and made no effort to control the behaviour of the cadres, who scaled trees and buildings. The situation became unusual when a branch broke. People became very tired after waiting for hours in the sun,” the FIR added.