Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 28: The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is suspecting a DMK-led Tamil Nadu government “conspiracy” in the Karur stampede on Saturday night in which 40 people were killed and over 100 injured and has approached the Madras High Court with a petition urging it to set up a Special Investigation Team or to transfer the case to the central agency CBI, TVK’s lawyer, Arivazhagan said.
Arivazhagan, the state coordinator of TVK’s legal wing, said the party trashed the state government’s contentions that safety guidelines were violated at the Karur rally. He said the party would raise the matter before the Madurai bench of the high court on Monday. “There was a conspiracy, a criminal conspiracy in the incident at Karur, so we requested the honourable high court to investigate the matter independently, not by a state agency,” he said. “The court has to constitute a special investigation team, or they have to transfer the case from Tamil Nadu police to CBI,” he said.
Asked if TVK did not trust the state police’s investigation, the lawyer replied, “There was a criminal conspiracy. We received reliable information from the local people, and we have some CCTV footage. It shows that there was a criminal conspiracy by some ruling party functionaries in the Karur district.”
Countering the DMK government’s allegations that the rally violated safety guidelines laid down by police, Arivazhagan said, “We did not violate any conditions imposed by the police, we did not.” He said TVK conducted several events over the past couple of months in Madurai, Trichy, Ariyalur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Namakkal. “How this happened in Karur, that is the question. It creates doubt.”
The 51-year-old actor, whose party TVK is gearing up for a poll debut in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election next year, is under fire after the stampede deaths. The DMK-led state government has slammed the actor-politician over how guidelines were violated at his rally, leading to the tragedy. Sources in the state government have said the organisers did not make proper arrangements for drinking water and food. This led to people in the crowd fainting.
DMK has refrained from commenting on the conspiracy charge. Dr Syed Hafeezullah, the party’s spokesperson, said, “We don’t want to politicise this. The law will take its course. Those who level such allegations should first introspect how their party leadership behaved.” Sources in the state government have said people gathered at the Karur rally venue since noon, but Vijay reached only around 7 pm. And a crowd of 27,000 people gathered at a venue with a capacity of around 10,000 and a crowd accompanied him into the already-cramped location. The sources have claimed the delay was deliberate and that TVK leaders wanted the crowd to swell. Trashing this claim, the TVK lawyer said, “The delay was not on our part. The delay was caused due to poor traffic. That is the reason we could not reach the destination on time.”
The Tamil Nadu police on Sunday countered the claims by the TVK saying that no stone pelting incident occurred at Vijay’s rally. The TVK had claimed that stone pelting triggered the stampede but the cops refuted the claims and said the party leadership defied orders regarding massive crowd gathering.
Additional director general of police (ADGP) Davidson Devasirvatham said during a press conference that the event had been delayed by several hours. This, according to him, led to people from Namakkal, where another of Vijay’s rallies was scheduled, also converging on the venue in Karur. He said it resulted in an overwhelming crowd that was difficult to control.
According to the ADGP, TVK had sought permission for a gathering of 12,000 people, and sufficient police personnel had been deployed accordingly. “Because the Namakkal campaign was delayed, he (Vijay) reached the Karur venue only by 6 pm. The crowd began to swell rapidly, with people from both Namakkal and Karur gathering to see him… Everybody wants to see their leader and they are pushing towards the vehicle. That’s because there are a lot of youngsters who are not even willing to listen to anybody, even to the volunteers, the bouncers, whomever they bring them,” the officer told the media.
ADGP Davidson said the organisers were asked to hold the speech in an area with fewer people, but the request fell on deaf ears. He also denied allegations of an intelligence failure in estimating the potential size of the gathering. “Organisers refused the officers’ suggestion. Additionally, there was no light inside Vijay’s bus, so the crowd could not see him and began moving along with the bus.”
The TVK, however, has alleged that the tragedy was not accidental but part of a “conspiracy.” The party claimed that stone-pelting targeted the crowd and that police had conducted a lathi-charge at the venue. They also alleged that there was a power cut, adding to the panic.
But the Government sources said the TVK supporters violated police guidelines and followed his vehicle to approach the stage. Even while Vijay was speaking, some people collapsed, but the speech continued and ambulances were not allowed into the venue, the sources have said. The sources said Vijay left for Trichy airport after the rally and flew to Chennai by a private flight.
The Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin visited the injured at a hospital and met the families of the stampede victims. “The tears shed by the families of those who lost their lives throughout the night, and the pain caused by their grief-filled cries, have not left my heart,” he said in a post on X.
The eye-witnesses said a power outage, a sudden surge of crowd, and a narrow space contributed to the stampede. The crowd had swelled till Vijay arrived around 7 pm, and he brought another crowd surge with his campaign bus, an eyewitness said. During this time, many people climbed on trees, roofs, and power lines, due to which authorities had to cut electrical lines to avoid cases of electrocution, he said.
According to him, when Vijay arrived, people started pushing each other and threw slippers at the campaign bus to get Vijay’s attention. “Some of the people who had climbed trees and power lines fell into drains and got stuck. Some people fainted, too. Ambulances rushed to help those who were stuck, but they could not go through the huge crowd,” the eyewitness said.
Another eyewitness claimed that the police then resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. “If Vijay had just waved his hands while on his way, the crowd would not have followed him. People were screaming for help. Vijay ignored their cries,” he said.
Some local residents of Velusamypuram where the tragedy took place, also recounted the harrowing scenes they witnessed. Crowds had begun gathering from early morning in Karur, though Mr Vijay arrived only around 7.30 p.m. “Had he kept to his allotted time of 3 p.m., the crowd would have been much smaller. By evening, the congestion was unbearable,” said Balaji, a resident.
Several locals said the choice of venue aggravated the situation. “If he [Vijay] had waved from the flyover or the outskirts, the crowd would have dispersed quickly. Instead, the procession was made to move with his propaganda van,” alleged Sivagurunathan N.S.
Others pointed to the absence of basic amenities. “There was no water, no shops open since morning. People fainted in the heat,” said G. Chitra. Residents also recalled children climbing electric posts and transformers to catch a glimpse of the actor, adding to the risk. Some linked the tragedy to the timing. “Saturday evening is peak time in Karur, when textile workers receive their wages. The surge to see Vijay only added to the pressure,” said B. Balusamy.
Several criticised the police and the organisers. “Police are now everywhere, but at that time they did not save us. They have so many intelligence wings, yet they failed to predict this crowd,” lamented Palanisamy, The residents also contrasted the rally with other political events. “Even the DMK held its Mupperum Vizha near the ring road, where there was space. Why bring such a crowd into a congested area?” asked K. Veeramani.