The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede case and has also appointed former SC judge, Ajay Rastogi, as the head of the three-member committee which will monitor CBI probe in the Karur stampede case. The stampede had occurred on September 27 during a rally of TVK chief actor Vijay after blackout happened. A total of 41 people lost their lives in the tragic incident while many were hospitalised following severe injury.
The top court said, “It is the right of the citizens to have fair investigation”, adding that the incident “shook the nation”.
The incident led to mass criticism of the TVK and Vijay as they had left the spot. The Ministry of Home Affairs also sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government over the stampede. A blame-game later erupted after Vijay accused MK Stalin-led DMK government in the state of orchestrating the entire mishap, whereas Stalin blamed TVK.
The matter was heard by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court previously, which lambasted Vijay for leaving the spot and not ensuring proper arrangements like availability of water for the people attending the rally. The High Court had on October 3 ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Inspector General of Police to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
Posters condemning TVK chief Vijay and showing him with bloodstained hands, were also put up in parts of Karur by the Tamil Nadu Students’ Association.
The deceased include 18 women, 13 men, five young girls, and five young boys. The massive crowd at actor Vijay’s rally turned chaotic, triggering panic with many people fainting due to heatstroke as Vijay came to the rally after a delay of seven hours.
What Stalin govt said
MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government has held Vijay responsible for the entire stampede chaos in Tamil Nadu. The state DGP on Sunday said that the actor-politician arrived seven hours late to the rally, further swelling the crowd. He said that management was not adequate by the political party and arrangements for water were also not made to assist people.
The state top cop had said that many people fainted due to heatstroke following hours of wait for Vijay. DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai even blamed Vijay for “planning the stampede”.
“TVK wants to escape criminal liability by alleging that DMK orchestrated the entire Karur stampede,” he said. The Tamil Nadu government earlier initiated a probe by the one-person commission of retired judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan.
Most of the political parties sought an earnest probe by a central agency into the matter. BJP leader Annamalai said earlier that one cannot blame Vijay only as the state authorities were responsible for the management that were to be there in place.
What exactly happened in Karur
Several factors likely contributed to the devastating stampede — starting with the massive turnout for the event. According to reports the crowd had swelled to an estimated 60,000 people during the Karur rally. The number was double the permitted limit of 30,000 and quickly overwhelmed the existing crowd control measures. A notice shared by the party ahead of the rally indicated that they had only expected around 10,000 people to attend.
Trouble increased after Vijay, who was supposed to reach at the site at 12 noon, arrived there after seven hours at 7 pm. Many including children had been waiting for hours to see the actor and fainted during the event. Vijay had briefly paused the rally to request passage for an ambulance and threw water bottles from atop his campaign vehicle to help people.
He also announced that a child had gone missing amid the chaos and urged police to come forward and help. Videos from the venue showed the actor-politician standing on the stage visibly concerned as he called the name of the child and pleaded with those gathered before him to help.
But the rally had eventually continued — even as some of its attendees headed to the hospital. Matters took a rapid turn for the worse as the crowd suddenly surged. According to a PTI update, Vijay had abruptly ended his speech as a section of the crowd descended into chaos.