With 40 people dead in a stampede, including nine children, anger is mounting against the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its president Vijay. The party and Vijay are facing tough questions over mismanagement in organising the campaign event at Karur, while the police and district administration are also being criticised for failing to anticipate the weekend crowds.

Vijay’s delayed arrival at two venues, crowds trailing him from one district to another, poor crowd control, and even the tinted glass on his bus all added to the chaos.

Timeline of the tragedy

On September 13, Vijay kicked off his first statewide tour starting from Trichy. The TVK immediately came under fire for causing extensive traffic snarls and damages to public property.

TVK cadre damaged a boys’ toilet in a school, a toll gate and handrails at the Trichy airport, leading to multiple police cases. 

The tour includes nearly every key district in the state, such as Karur and Nammakal, both on September 27. The end date was pushed to early 2026.

On September 25, TVK submitted a letter to the police requesting permission for a rally in Karur town on September 27. The party asked for one of two locations: the Lighthouse Roundtana or the Uzhavar Santhai Thidal (farmers market). 

The letter said that the TVK expects 10,000 people to attend the rally. 

Stating that both suggested locations are thickly populated business areas, the police instead allocated Velusamypuram on the Karur-Erode Road. This location is often used for political rallies.

According to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Law and Order Davidson Devasirvatham, 500 police personnel were deployed at Velusamypuram and a crowd strength of 15,000 was expected. 

As per the TVK’s schedule, Vijay was slated to speak at Nammakal at 8.45 am. He would then travel around 40 km and speak at Karur’s Velusamypuram at 12.45 pm.

But Vijay reached Nammakal only at 2 pm. He delivered a speech there until 2.30 pm. 

He proceeded to Karur around 3 pm. According to police sources, at least 5,000 supporters followed him in their own vehicles.

However, anticipating his arrival in Karur, crowds had begun gathering from 9 am. This included families with children and, a rarity in political rallies in the state — many young women.

By the time Vijay was about to enter Karur, the sides of the roads were already packed with supporters; there were very few barricades to keep them from spilling onto the roads. Vijay required a police escort in order to reach Velusamypuram.

Vijay reached the venue over six hours late, at 7 pm. As his bus rolled in, the supporters who had occupied both sides of the road were pushed back to make way for him and the 5,000 others who had followed him from Nammakal despite strict advisories not to do so.  

Travelling by road from Nammakal to Karur takes only around one hour.

Sources told TNM that even before Vijay reached Velusamypuram, at around 6 pm, several supporters had begun collapsing due to dehydration and exhaustion. Ambulances had already started rescue operations, ferrying them to nearby hospitals. 

“There were no arrangements made for water. People entered our compound desperate for water,” a woman who lives in the area told the media.

The situation only worsened with Vijay’s arrival at Velusamypuram. More people started rushing towards the bus to catch a glimpse of their cine icon. 

Normally, Vijay has a habit of switching on the spotlight inside his vehicle so that supporters can see him through the tinted windows. This time he did not do so. The supporters waiting in Karur and those who followed his vehicle could not see him as it was evening and tried to get close to the bus. 

With no space to stand, those who had been waiting began scaling nearby trees and small buildings, including teashops. Most of these buildings only had tin roofs that could not withstand their weight and collapsed. A tree branch also reportedly collapsed, causing injuries. 

Chaos broke out as supporters ran in panic, forcing police to use their lathis to control the crowds from surging at certain points. 

Meanwhile, Vijay had started delivering his speech and continued even as the chaos broke out. His speech was interrupted thrice by more ambulances rushing in. 

Seeing supporters collapse, Vijay threw water bottles into the crowd and asked people to make way for the ambulances.  

Power fluctuations also added to the confusion. The generators malfunctioned and Vijay’s microphone stopped working midway. Police sources told TNM that several people threw footwear and stones in an attempt to direct Vijay’s attention to what was happening there. Further, Vijay asked the crowds if he can continue to speak, and they said yes.

Unable to hear him, supporters began surging closer towards the bus. While TVK supporters have alleged that power supply was cut in the area, video footage and several eyewitness accounts have emerged of people climbing transformers to get a better look at the TVK chief.

This triggered at least three stampedes. One broke out near a teashop; another near Ganapathi Bakery. A third stampede occurred close to the generators. People who fell down were trampled on. 

As Vijay was leaving the venue, crowds tried to follow his bus. This led to another round of stampedes.

According to hospital sources, at least 32 people were brought dead, including women and children. 

TVK has announced a Rs 20 lakh solatium for the families of the victims. The party has also approached the Madras High Court seeking an independent probe, alleging conspiracies behind the stampede.

This report was republished from The News Minute as part of The News Minute-Newslaundry alliance. Read about our partnership here and become a subscriber here.