What Went Wrong At Vijay’s Karur Event? Here's What We Know So Far

Karur, Tamil Nadu witnessed a devastating tragedy on Saturday (27 September), when a stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally claimed 39 lives and left more than 80 injured.

Most of the victims were aged between 18 and 30.

As per available reports, the tragic sequence of events began days earlier when TVK functionaries suggested four venues for the rally, all located in crowded business areas of Karur.

The police denied permission for these locations, instead allowing the meeting at Velusamypuram on Karur-Erode Road, the same site where AIADMK’s Edappadi K Palaniswami had held a rally on 25 September.

On the day of the event, organisers had announced that TVK president Vijay would speak at 12 noon. Supporters began arriving as early as 9 AM, but Vijay did not turn up at the scheduled time.

By 2 PM, fewer than 4,000 people were present, but the numbers swelled after 4 PM, as news spread that Vijay was on his way from Namakkal.

Around 6 PM,Vijay’s convoy reached an overbridge less than a kilometre away, but it took another hour for him to arrive at the meeting spot. By then, the crowd had doubled, with thousands following his vehicle.

The stampede began when people were forced to make way for Vijay’s bus. With no room to retreat, many fainted and fell onto a shed housing a generator and a TV broadcast van.

“I was pushed down by the crowd all of a sudden. There was absolutely no space to move. I subsequently fainted,” said survivor B Kanishka, as quoted by The Hindu.

Another attendee, Karthick from Erode, added, “The situation could have been averted if the people were not forced to wait for hours together. Poor planning and execution of the programme and lack of police personnel at the spot were also the reasons.”

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