Vijay rally stampede: What factors led to the incident at superstar's rally? Here's what police say
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Vijay rally stampede: What factors led to the incident at superstar's rally? Here's what police say")
TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) chief and actor Vijay addresses gathering before stampede during a public event, in Karur on Saturday Photograph: (ANI)
Vijay’s arrival was announced much earlier by TVK’s social media handles but he arrived late leading to the surge in crowd, said the police chief.
The stampede at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam TVK chief Vijay’s rally in Tamil Nadu's Karur has increased to 39. A massive crowd had gathered for rally addressed by Vijay, actor-turned-politician on Saturday (Sep 27) when the unfortunate incident happened. According to Tamil Nadu DGP G Venkatraman address to the media on Sunday, the delayed arrival by Vijay to the rally venue led to the stampede.
He said that permission was sought for a gathering of 10,000 people, but the crowd swelled to 27,000 people due to a seven-hour delay by the actor. In fact 500 personnel were deployed for the rally but as people began to turn up it became difficult to manage the crowd.
Vijay’s arrival was announced much earlier by TVK’s social media handles but he arrived late leading to the surge in crowd, said the police chief. He also pointed that TVK had requested for a smaller venue but was allocated a larger 1.2 lakh sq ft site for the rally as they expected more people to turn up.
“Permission (for the meeting) was sought for between 3 pm and 10 pm. The TVK Twitter account said he will come at 12 and the crowd started coming in from 11 am. He came at 7.40 pm. The people lacked sufficient food and water under the hot sun. Our intention is not to blame anyone, but we are just stating the facts," said police chief Venkatraman.
Probe ordered by CM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin has ordered a judicial probe and announced a commission to be headed by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe into the circumstances that led to the tragedy. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased, and Rs 1 lakh for all those injured has also been announced by the Tamil Nadu government.
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"My heart is broken"
Meanwhile, Vijay reacted to the incident and said he was "heartbroken" and in "unbearable pain". Taking to his X handle the actor wrote, "My heart is broken; I am in unbearable, indescribable pain and sorrow".
"I extend my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of my dear brothers and sisters who lost their lives in Karur. I pray for the swift recovery of those receiving treatment in the hospital," he added.
