Karur: The bodies of 38 people who died due to stampede at the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s rally here on September 27, have been identified and currently efforts were on to hand over their mortal remains to their relatives, Dindigul district collector S Saravanan has said on Sunday.
The identify of a woman was yet to be established, he said.
“Currently, the work to identify this woman was on and once it was done, we would follow the due procedure of conducting a post-mortem and hand over the body to her relatives,” he said.
Of the deceased, 14 have been handed over to their relatives so far, Saravanan told reporters here.
Director of Medical Education, Dr Suganthi Rajakumari, said the condition of two persons who were admitted on September 27 continued to remain in critical and efforts were on to revive them.
To a question, she told reporters here that all government facilities had adequate supplies of oxygen and medicines and that the patients were being provided the best treatment.
“Totally, we received 39 bodies at the GH and post-mortem was performed on 31 persons. Two persons are in a critical condition,” Rajakumari said.
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.
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 a new headline and information)
