NEW DELHI: The death toll from Saturday night’s stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s rally in Karur rose to 41 on Monday. Over 60 people were hospitalized, with the youngest victim being a two-year-old boy.
Tamil Nadu DGP G Venkataraman on Sunday said the stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s public rally in Karur was triggered by his delayed arrival.
The DGP noted that the swelling crowd had been waiting for hours in the scorching sun without sufficient food and water, leading to 39 deaths in the tragic incident.
He added that a surge in the crowd occurred after the official Twitter handle of Vijay’s TVK party announced he would arrive at the venue by noon.
"Permission (for the meeting) was sought for between 3 pm-10pm. The TVK Twitter account said he will come at 12 and crowd started coming in from 11am. He came at 7.40pm. The people lacked sufficient food water under the hot sun."
"Our intention is not to blame anyone, but we are just stating the facts," the Head of Police Force added.
TVK deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar said the party sought an impartial probe.
Vijay limited his response to a social media statement announcing Rs 20 lakh for families of deceased and Rs 2 lakh for the injured. PM Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh for bereaved families and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
AIADMK general secretary and opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Sunday that full police protection if provided could have averted the stampede at Veluswamypuram.
“Even if the court directs govt to permit political campaigns, the state govt and police are not providing full protection to events organised by opposition parties. Had full police protection been provided, we could have prevented the stampede and deaths. The party leader (without naming Vijay) should have closely observed the situation too. He (Vijay) has completed campaigns in four districts and should have assessed the shortcomings and rectified them. These are crucial lives that we have lost,” Palaniswami told reporters after visiting Karur govt hospital where he inquired with the injured people and consoled relatives of deceased victims.
Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and politicians fromparties also visited Karur. TVK functionaries were largely absent at ground zero.
Karur police registered a case and charged TVK officebearers with negligence.
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