Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 27: At least 36 people were killed and over 80 injured in a “stampede-like-crush” at a political rally addressed by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay in Karur in Tamil Nadu on Saturday evening, according to hospital authorities.
The victims include six children, nine men and 16 women, sources said. The numbers are likely to increase as a commotion prevails at the venue, and officials are failing to give exact figures (as of 9 pm).
Large crowds had gathered for the meeting, part of Mr Vijay’s ongoing State tour. As the event progressed, several people reportedly fainted in the crowd and were rushed to the Karur Medical College Hospital and private hospitals nearby.
The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry. A senior official said, “We will fix responsibility once video evidence and testimonies are studied. Crowd-control failures appear evident.”
Tamil Nadu ministers confirmed the casualties late Saturday and announced immediate relief measures.
The incident, described as a “stampede-like crush” by the district administration, occurred at Velusamypuram on the Karur–Erode highway, where thousands had gathered for Vijay’s ‘Velicham Veliyeru’ (‘Let There Be Light’) campaign meeting. He was addressing the audience when chaos broke out, forcing him to halt his speech.
Several senior TVK functionaries had addressed the gathering before Vijay took the stage. Leaders including Bussy Anand, former Vijay Makkal Iyakkam coordinator, and Karur district in-charge K. Ramesh spoke briefly, warming up the audience. The frenzy peaked only when Vijay appeared, with supporters pushing forward in waves to get closer.
Eyewitnesses said the trouble began around 7.45 pm when large sections of the crowd, eager to catch a glimpse of Vijay, surged towards the stage barricades. Several people fainted in the suffocating rush.
In the melee, children were separated from their families, and many were trampled before volunteers and police could intervene. Live television footage showed Vijay pausing his speech, distributing water bottles to fainting supporters, and requesting police help.
At one point, the actor was seen calling out to locate a missing child amid the chaos.
Ambulances had difficulty navigating the jammed ground. Volunteers eventually formed human chains to carve pathways for the injured. Many were rushed to Karur District Headquarters Hospital, while others were referred to Erode and Tiruchirappalli medical colleges.
Police sources said the Karur rally attracted a crowd far beyond initial estimates. Though permissions were granted for around 30,000 participants, local reports suggested nearly 60,000 people converged on Velusamypuram from surrounding districts, many traveling on foot, tractors, and buses. The venue had already been shifted once. Originally planned in central Karur, it was moved after police warned of congestion and traffic risks.
Ahead of the rally, Karur police had imposed a list of restrictions: no roadshows, no unauthorised LED screens, no multiple stages, and mandatory barricades around the dais. Organisers were asked to ensure separate entry and exit points, and volunteers were tasked with crowd management.
However, senior officers admitted privately that the controls proved inadequate. “The turnout was much larger than projected. The entry points became chokeholds. The stage barricades could not handle the surge,” a police source said.
Local Tamil dailies reported that police had objected to the lack of buffer zones around the stage. Some volunteers allegedly encouraged people to move forward when Vijay began speaking, worsening the crush.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said news from Karur (where a rally addressed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay) was concerning. In a post on X, Mr Stalin said he had instructed former Minister V. Senthilbalaji, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian and the District Collector to ensure immediate treatment for the people who were caught in the stampede.
“I have also ordered the Minister from Tiruchi Anbil Mahesh to extend help on a war footing,” he said in the tweet. CM Stalin said he had also spoken to the ADGP to take measures to ensure normalcy returns soon. He also requested the public and doctors to extend co-operation to the public. Mr Stalin is expected to visit Karur on Sunday.
In Chennai, opposition AIADMK and BJP leaders accused the ruling DMK government and TVK of negligence. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said, “This tragic loss of lives was avoidable. Proper safety measures were not in place.” Mr Palaniswami expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during Vijay’s TVK rally in Karur. “I urge the Tamil Nadu government to immediately take necessary measures to ensure proper treatment for those admitted to the hospital and to provide appropriate compensation to the families of the deceased,” he said in a post.
TVK leaders expressed grief but defended their preparations. Party spokesperson Bussy Anand said, “We had followed all police instructions. The love for Vijay anna brought people in such numbers. We deeply mourn the lives lost.”
This was not the first time Vijay’s rallies have come under scrutiny. His debut rally in Trichy earlier this month saw massive crowds escorting his convoy from the airport to the venue, turning a 20-minute ride into a six-hour traffic jam that brought the city to a halt.
Citing safety concerns, the police had imposed 23 conditions for TVK rallies, including a ban on joining convoys, public receptions, and advisories for pregnant women, the elderly and the differently abled to follow events online. Courts, too, had made strong observations about public safety and the actor-politician’s responsibility even as TVK alleged bias against the party. Despite Vijay’s repeated appeals, most of these conditions were openly defied by his supporters. Many had brought in children and infants.
The Madras High Court, while hearing TVK’s petition against “tough and unfulfillable conditions” imposed by the police for its rallies earlier this month, had questioned whether such restrictions were being applied to all parties. Justice N Sathish Kumar referred to the chaos at Vijay’s Tiruchi rally on September 13, and said, “If something untoward had happened, who would take responsibility? As party president, Vijay ought to control the crowds.”
The Karur tragedy raises questions on both the TVK’s accountability and the police’s preparedness. Did the inordinate delay in Vijay’s arrival contribute to the build-up and was it deliberate to showcase his mass support? The question was asked.
At the centre of both the frenzy and the fallout is Vijay, 51, one of Tamil cinema’s biggest stars. Known as ‘Thalapathy’ (commander) to millions of fans, he launched the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (Party for Tamil Nadu’s Victory) earlier this year. His entry shook Tamil Nadu politics, long dominated by the DMK and AIADMK, both parties with deep roots in cinema-politics culture.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, TVK surprised many by polling close to 10% of the vote share, especially among first-time voters. Analysts described Vijay’s rise as the beginning of a third axis in Tamil Nadu politics.
The Karur rally was part of a state-wide tour to consolidate grassroots networks before the 2026 assembly elections.
The “Velicham Veliyeru” campaign has drawn crowds of unprecedented size across Tamil Nadu, echoing the frenzy of MG Ramachandran’s (MGR) rallies in the 1970s.
But with size comes risk. Security experts had already flagged safety gaps at previous TVK events in Madurai and Coimbatore, where makeshift barricades collapsed under fan pressure. Saturday’s tragedy, many observers say, was a disaster foretold.
Tamil Nadu’s history of cinema-politics crossovers has often been marked by mega rallies, but not without consequences. In December 2004, a similar surge at a Jayalalithaa meeting in Kumbakonam left several injured. More recently, in 2019, a stampede at a Jallikattu viewing stand in Pudukottai killed three.
“The cult of personality and the desire to ‘see’ their leader drives people to dangerous extremes,” political sociologists said. “Event management in such contexts must be professional, not left to volunteers.”
For Vijay, the tragedy comes as his political movement was gathering momentum. His image as a people’s leader will now be tested against questions of organisational discipline and accountability. For the state, the incident has revived urgent debates about regulating political rallies in Tamil Nadu, where celebrity-driven politics regularly draws crowds in the tens of thousands.
