Actor Vijay’s party in Karur, Tamil Nadu is deepening the political dispute after the death of at least 40 people in a stampede during the rally of Tamilga Vatri Kazhagam (TVK). TVK had alleged that stampede was created due to stone pelting and police lathicharge on the mob. However, on Sunday, the Tamil Nadu police dismissed these claims and said that the reason for the accident was to become uncontrolled.
Police refused to throw stones and lathicharge
TVK says that stone pelting and police action in the rally caused a stampede, but the police claim that no such incident happened. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Davidson Devasiravatham told the press conference that the party leadership ignored the advice of the officials despite the huge crowd and organized the program in a narrow place.
The crowd of Namakkal and Karur gathered together
ADGP Devasiravatham said that Vijay’s program started several hours late from the scheduled time. Vijay reached Karur at 6 pm, while earlier he had another program in Namakkal. Due to the delay, people from Namakkal also reached Karur and joined the already present crowd. Due to this, the size of the crowd suddenly increased and the situation worsened.
Crowd gathered more than estimated
The police officer said that TVK had taken permission of 12,000 people for the Karur rally and accordingly sufficient police force was deployed. However, the actual number exceeded this. The officer also told that due to lack of light inside Vijay’s bus, people could not see them and started moving forward with the bus. This increased the push and chaos.
Organizers unheard police advice
According to the ADGP, the police had appealed to the organizers that Vijay should address in the low -crowded area, but he was not accepted. He also dismissed allegations of intelligence system failure and said that adequate assessment was made regarding the possible crowd.
Appeal in TVK court
Meanwhile, Vijay’s party TVK has demanded an independent investigation into the Karur stampede, knocking on the door of the Madras High Court. The party wants the investigation of the case to be handed over to either the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or Special Investigation Team (SIT). TVK alleges that the incident was not accidental, but a ‘conspiracy’. The party has described the incidents of stone pelting, police lathicharge and power failure as the reason for stampede.