Karur stampede tragedy: Police file complaint against Vijay’s TVK as death toll rises to 40

Police have filed cases against various leaders of Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party-turned-politician after a stampede at his rally killed 40 people, officials said on Sunday (September 28).

“Tamil Nadu police have filed a complaint, a first step towards potential charges, against senior TVK party leaders Bussy Anand, Nirmal Kumar and vice-president Mathiyalagan, and the investigation is underway,” said a senior police official, V Selvaraj, Reuters news agency reported.

“TVK had initially requested permission to hold a rally of 10,000 people, but the actual crowd was more than twice that,” he added.

The toll stands at 40

The death toll rose to 40 on September 28 after an injured person, who was receiving treatment, succumbed to his injuries.

Tamil Nadu Health Secretary P Senthil Kumar had earlier said that 39 deaths were reported, including 17 women, 13 men, 4 male children and 5 girls in the incident, according to PTI.

Read more: Karur stampede: Vijay to give 20 lakh compensation to each family of 39 victims who died during TVK rally

TVK approaches Madras High Court

Meanwhile, TVK approached the Madras High Court on September 28 seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe alleging conspiracy and stone-pelting.

TVK Defenders Wing president S Arivazhagan said, “The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor C. Joseph Vijay, has approached the Madras High Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the tragic stampede in Karur that claimed the lives of almost 40 people yesterday.

Advocate S. Arivazhagan, appearing for TVK, made a statement before Justice M. Dhandapani, urging the court to take suo motu cognizance of the incident and ensure an impartial investigation. The plea highlighted that only an independent agency could uncover the lapses that led to large loss of lives during the party’s public meeting, according to news agency ANI.

The judge ordered the lawyers to file a detailed petition before the Madurai bench of the High Court. The case is expected to be heard on Monday September 29.

Police describe developments

ADGP of Law and Order, S. Davidson Devasirvatham told reporters that TVK had sought permission to hold the rally at a place called Light House Raundana. However, this was not accepted by the police as it was a location considered high risk, with a petrol pump on the left and the Amaravati river bridge on the right.

Read more: Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati arrested in Agra for allegedly sexually harassing 17 female students

“They asked for another place and that was also inspected, and they were told that the capacity of the people they were going to bring could not be accommodated there. So, keeping that as an alternative, we offered this place because recently a political party had organized an event there with around 12,000 to 15,000 people, and it went very peacefully. So, they also went to see the place. Finally, they agreed. They gave us in writing that we could be allowed to hold the event there…” said the manager.

“No, it was not an intelligence failure… There were adequate street lights… Yes, some conditions were violated. A case has been registered and investigation will reveal who all are involved,” Devasirvatham added.

Meanwhile, retired High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan, who was appointed by the state government to investigate the Karur rally stampede in detail, arrived at the accident site.

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