District head of Vijay’s outfit arrested for Karur stampede

Separately, three people were arrested for allegedly spreading rumours on social media about the stampede, Chennai police said.

The FIR charged the organisers with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, endangering the life of others, and disobedience to lawful order, in addition to provisions under the state’s public property law. It stated that permission was granted for 10,000 people, yet more than 25,000 gathered; that Vijay’s delayed entry, unplanned roadshows, and stoppages in the middle of surging crowds “created unnecessary expectation” and “led to abnormal circumstances”; and that collapsing tin sheds and falling trees triggered “suffocation, grievous injuries, and loss of life.”

The dead include 18 women and 10 children.

According to the FIR, the television channels had on Saturday announced that Vijay would arrive at Karur by noon, but he entered the district only at 4.45 pm, “conducting multiple unsanctioned roadshows en route.” “By the time he reached Veluchamipuram Junction at 7 pm, thousands were crammed into a narrow space,” the FIR said.

“Despite the fact that I (Karur town inspector), along with the Deputy Superintendent of Police, repeatedly warned and advised the TVK District Secretary Mathiyalagan, the General Secretary Bussy Ananth, the Joint Secretary CTR Nirmalkumar, and several other TVK administrators, they did not heed our words and continued to engage in abnormal activities. Though the police provided adequate security, Mathiyalagan and other administrators failed to properly regulate their cadres. Instead, party cadres were made to climb and sit on the nearby narrow sloping tin sheds (erected to provide shade to shops) and also on the nearby trees. As a result, when the tin shed collapsed and the tree broke, the cadres sitting on them fell upon the general public standing below. This caused suffocation to most of the public, creating a dangerous situation,” it states.

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