Vijay Rally Stampede: Madras High Court Had Earlier Warned About Safety Lapses At TVK Events

Tragedy unfolded in Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay’s rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on Saturday as 38 people lost their lives following a stampede. Several politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister MK Stalin, expressed condolences over the shocking incident.

The actor-turned-politician was addressing a rally attended by tens of thousands of people, despite only 10,000 people being allowed to gather. The crowd soon became uncontrollable as several people, including children, fainted at the spot. Vijay promptly stopped his speech and distributed water to people and arranged for ambulances for people.

At least 38 people, including eight children and 16 women, are confirmed dead after the stampede, and more than

60 people were hospitalised, according to Tamil Nadu ministers. Eyewitnesses and locals attributed the disaster to severe lapses in crowd control and poor arrangements.

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What Happened In Karur?

According to the information available, police permission was reportedly for only 10,000 people in Vijay’s Karur rally, but the actual turnout swelled to nearly 30,000 to 35,000, despite assurances of a lower turnout by the organisers.

Vijay arrived at the venue at least six hours late, further adding to the chaos. When Vijay began speaking, several people in the restless crowd pushed towards the stage, overpowering barricades and causing a stampede. Several people, including children, fell unconscious due to fatigue and suffocation after waiting for several hours.

Officials said restrictions and crowd-control norms were not followed, and police are now investigating a mismatch between the permitted capacity and the actual turnout. The venue also lacked adequate infrastructure to manage large crowds, particularly with regard to pathways, choke points, and the sufficiency of volunteers for crowd control.

In his recent rallies, Vijay had been criticising the DMK government for imposing conditions on his rallies, and even questioned if it would dare to impose such conditions on the rallies of PM Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. “Why do you impose conditions on me who wants to meet the people. What’s your intention?” he said last week.

High Court On Safety Lapses

The tragedy in Karur is now likely to raise doubts over police arrangements in political rallies and the accountability taken by the ruling DMK government. Notably, Vijay’s rallies have been marred by controversies, with the DMK-led administration imposing several restrictions in response to the massive crowds drawn to his rallies.

The Madras High Court had earlier warned about safety lapses at Vijay’s rallies, asking who would bear the responsibility if lives were lost. The court had ordered the Tamil Nadu government to frame uniform safety rules for political rallies of all parties.

The High Court had also suggested advanced deposits and accountability of organisers, stressing that leaders must protect women, the elderly and differently-abled citizens. The tragic incident is expected to raise questions about whether these warnings were ignored.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government regarding the accident. Chief Minister MK Stalin is expected to reach the area at 1 am on Sunday.