At least 30,000 people gathered at the rally venue of actor-turned-politician Thalapathy Vijay in Tamil Nadu, India. Several videos of the stampede have gone viral on social media.
The death toll has risen to 39. Among them are 17 women and 9 children. Local officials said that the number of injured is 46.
The incident of casualties took place in Karur district on Saturday evening. A police source told NDTV that a large number of people were moving forward together, and some of them fell unconscious. This led to the stampede.
According to a senior police officer, at least 30,000 people gathered at the rally venue. Vijay’s program was pre-planned. Earlier, he held a political rally in Namakkal. He announced yesterday’s program there. However, Vijay reached the rally venue about seven hours late. By then, it became difficult to manage the crowd.
Several videos of the incident have been shared on social media. It can be seen that the crowd was increasing. Many people started suffocating in the intense heat and crowd. A large number of people rushed towards the barricades of the stage to get a glimpse of Thalapathy Vijay. At that time, the accident started. As people rushed forward, many became unconscious. Then Vijay stopped his speech. He threw water bottles at the crowd to help.
Vijay’s party had initially sought permission for the rally at the Lighthouse premises in Karur district. But keeping in mind the large number of people present in his previous two rallies, permission was not granted to hold the rally in that narrow place. They said that thousands of people could come, but there were more than 27,000 people at the rally.
India’s Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the casualties.
At a press conference around 1 am yesterday, Tamil Nadu Police Director General G Venkataraman said that Vijay’s party had initially sought permission for the rally at the Lighthouse complex in Karur district. But keeping in mind the large number of people present at his previous two rallies, permission was not granted for the rally at that narrow place. They said that tens of thousands of people could come, but more than 27,000 people attended the rally.
The state police official also said, “We had given permission for the rally from 10 am to 3 pm. Vijay was supposed to reach the rally venue at around 12:30 pm. A large number of people gathered there an hour before that. But Vijay arrived there at 7:40 pm. There was no food or water for the people who had been waiting at the rally venue for a long time.” He also said, “We are not blaming anyone. This is what happened at the rally venue.’
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a statement that Rs 10 lakh will be given to the families of those killed in the stampede and Rs 1 lakh to each of the injured who are undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited the scene of the incident at night. He expressed his condolences and condolences to the victims by posting on social media. He said that the state government has formed a commission headed by retired High Court judge Aruna Jagadeshan to investigate the incident.
In a statement, MK Stalin said that Rs 10 lakh will be given to the families of those killed in the stampede and Rs 1 lakh to each of the injured who are undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a condolence message that this tragic incident that took place at Karur’s political rally is very painful.
After the incident, Vijay went straight to Trichy airport from the rally venue. From there, the actor-politician boarded a flight to Chennai. Vijay had not spoken to the media before.
Later, after landing in Chennai, Vijay wrote on X, “My heart is broken. I am in pain and grief that cannot be described in words. My deepest condolences to the families of my beloved brothers and sisters who lost their lives. Wishing a speedy recovery to those undergoing treatment in the hospital.”
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