Karur: As many as 40 people, including nine children, have died due to a stampede at a rally of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on September 27.
Mounds of shoes and chappals, crushed water bottles, torn party flags, pieces of clothes, broken poles, shreds of paper sprayed from party poppers and striking garbage of sorts, at the venue only reminded of the tragic incident.
A young man, among the crowd at the stampede spot, who managed to safely get out, claimed that several people were pushed to a ‘low-lying sewerage’ close to the road margin as many tried to get out at the same time. He regretted that what began as a ‘celebration time’ to hail their beloved matinee idol ended in tragedy.
“As fans were chanting Vijay’s name, several did not realise that it was a stampede and that people fell down. Many who happened to place their legs on people who fell down also tripped and fell,” he told reporters.
Several people had their own claims about the cause of the stampede, and it is not clear what went wrong; whether it was the choice of the venue or overcrowding, which has been witnessed ever since Vijay launched his state-wide tour on September 13.
At the venue, people pushed away tin sheets used to barricade and make enclosure kind of spaces, and many who climbed on to thatched roof structures nearby fell down and sustained injuries. Almost at the same time, police baton-charged to control the situation.
However, people, including children, who were caught in the crowd and fell down, could not comprehend what was happening.
A senior citizen in his 70s said he has never seen so many people getting killed in a stampede at a political party’s event and blamed the youths for their anxiety to somehow take a look at the actor.
Staff at the Karur government hospital themselves were rattled by the unceasing siren of ambulances bringing injured people and policemen pitched in by carrying the victims to the treatment ward. Visuals of young men and women crying by holding his motionless children shook hearts.
TVK announces Rs 20 lakh compensation
TVK president Vijay on Sunday announced that Rs 20 lakh would be given to the families of those who lost their lives and Rs 2 lakh to those who sustained injuries at the stampede.
The actor-politician said he is deeply anguished over the incident and expressed his condolences in a social media post. “It is not a huge amount for the loss you have suffered. I know your loss cannot be replaced. It is an irreparable loss. However, it is my duty to stand next to you in this hour and share your grief,” he said.
Vijay also made a mention before Justice M Dhandapani of the Madras High Court to order CBI or Special Investigation Team probe into the tragic deaths. His advocates have filed a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and it will be taken up for hearing on Monday at 2.15 pm.
The Union government also announced that an Rs 2 lakh as compensation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for families of those who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
TN govt launches enquiry commission
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday said the Commission led by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan would arrive in Karur later in the day to probe the stampede incident.
He said Chief Minister M K Stalin would take appropriate action based on the report submitted by the panel.
Udhayanidhi, who cut short his overseas trip, paid homage to the deceased and visited the injured at a hospital. He was accompanied by Cabinet colleagues, including Health Minister Ma Subramanian.
“The Commission will speak to the affected individuals and submit its report. Based on its recommendations, the Chief Minister will take suitable action,” Udhayanidhi told reporters.
The Deputy CM said over 345 doctors and nurses from neighbouring districts have been deployed to treat the injured.
Stampede shows evidence of ‘security lapse’ at meet: AIADMK
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami claimed that the stampede showed evidence of security lapse on the part of the police and administration.
“There is evidence of a security lapse at Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam meeting, based on media reports. There was confusion and a stampede due to power disruption. TVK should have taken precautionary measures focussing on safety and security of its party workers as it had held four meetings so far,” Palaniswami told reporters here.
The police should have reviewed and strengthened the security arrangements based on the crowd that attended the TVK meetings in the past and depending on the prevailing situation at Karur meeting. Even the government and TVK leadership should have bestowed thought on the security arrangements, he said.
The AIADMK leader who earlier visited the Karur GH and inquired with the recuperating patients and interacted with the doctors treating the patients, said a political leader should keenly observe the crowd and rectify the lapses and be prepared for the meeting.
“The public attends such meetings due to their faith on the party, government and police. The loss of so many precious lives could have been avoided. I am not blaming anyone. We lost so many lives. Such a tragedy has not occurred anywhere. This is shocking,” Palaniswami said and emphasised that such a tragedy never occurred at the meetings of other political parties in the state.
He alleged that the previous AIADMK government under him took sufficient precautions when political meetings were held, but now the police were not giving total protection. They followed two different yardsticks, providing enhanced security for the ruling DMK. The police should remain neutral, he added.
To a question, he replied that it was the duty of Chief Minister M K Stalin to announce relief to the victims and also visit them at the GH. The government and police should have handled the situation efficiently and averted the tragedy, he stressed.
“Nowhere have the police been involved in efforts to defuse the stampede and in providing security. This government is partial,” the former Chief Minister alleged and added that the opposition parties had to approach the courts for permission to organise meetings.
Palaniswami declined to accept the police version of the incident that the gathering exceeded the anticipated numbers and hence became unmanageable to control, and shot back “does not the police know how many attended the earlier four meetings of Vijay and did not the TVK party inform them of the numbers? Should not the police take appropriate precautionary measures?”
It was better not to politicise this incident in view of the magnitude of the tragedy, he emphasised and advised that steps should be taken to ensure such shocking incidents don’t occur in the future.
(This copy has been updated with the latest death toll and information)
