Similar crowd-related health emergencies, including heatstroke and injuries, had occurred at at least six to seven previous TVK rallies, said Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, Davidson Devasirvatham IPS.
Published Sep 30, 2025 | 7:09 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2025 | 7:09 PM
The public rally at Veluchamipuram, featuring actor-politician Vijay as part of the party’s outreach ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Synopsis: The stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam public meeting in Karur, Tamil Nadu, on 27 September, which claimed 41 lives, followed a pattern of recurring crowd-related incidents at the party’s previous rallies, including heatstroke and injuries, according to officials. The public rally at Veluchamipuram, featuring actor-politician Vijay as part of the party’s outreach ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, was attended by an estimated 50,000 people, far exceeding the 10,000 expected.
The stampede that claimed 41 lives on Saturday, 27 September during a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) public meeting in Karur, Tamil Nadu, was not an isolated incident.
Similar crowd-related health emergencies, including heatstroke and injuries, had occurred at at least six to seven previous TVK rallies, said Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, Davidson Devasirvatham IPS.
“On the same day in Namakkal, 34 people were admitted to hospital due to heatstroke. In Viluppuram, 42 people were injured; in Madurai, 14; in Tiruchirappalli, 12; in Ariyalur, 6; in Tiruvarur, 17; in Nagapattinam, 5; in Namakkal again, 35; and in Karur, 116,” Devasirvatham said at a press conference at the State Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday.
“In the last six to seven Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam meetings, such incidents had repeatedly occurred.”
The public rally at Veluchamipuram, featuring actor-politician Vijay as part of the party’s outreach ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, was attended by an estimated 30,000 people, far exceeding the 10,000 expected.
When asked why the meeting could not have been cancelled as in Perambalur, the ADGP said, “In Perambalur, the cancellation happened only because it was already past 10 pm. In Karur, it was not that late. Secondly, when a huge crowd is waiting for a major celebrity, if the police go and announce that the leader will not come, no one can predict what kind of consequences that might lead to. Therefore, it was not possible to cancel the Karur event in the same way.”
Questions have been raised about whether the choice of venue contributed to the tragedy.
P Amudha, Additional Chief Secretary to the state government, said the Veluchamipuram ground “was allotted exactly as requested by the organisers.” Other locations, including the Lighthouse roundabout and the Uzhavar Sandhai (farmers’ market), were not considered suitable due to safety and space constraints.
Officials also addressed concerns about whether the authorities underestimated the crowd. “Based on the letter submitted by the party, it was stated that only 10,000 people would attend. Even so, considering past meetings, adequate police force was deployed,” P Amudha said.
Clarifying reports of a power failure during the rally, she added, “Power supply was never cut at any point. The power disruption happened only in one spot because Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam volunteers fell onto the generator, which caused the lighting failure.”
ADGP Davidson Devasirvatham explained that reports of police using lathicharge were misleading. “When Vijay was arriving at the meeting, his vehicle was unable to move forward. We asked the organisers to stop and speak from there itself, but they kept moving forward. While clearing the way for the vehicle, a scuffle occurred, which is being misunderstood as lathi-charge.”
He noted that crowd congestion had already begun hours before the programme started. “Vijay had announced that he would arrive at 12 noon, but he actually arrived only around 7 pm. By then, the crowd had grown very large. His vehicle was a big one, and for it to move forward, people on the sides had to make way. But since everyone wanted to see Vijay’s face up close, they moved closer to the vehicle, which led to crowd congestion.”
Addressing reports that shoes were thrown at Vijay or that his supporters were attacked with knives, officials said, “All of these matters will come out clearly in the investigation report.”
Explaining the large number of ambulances at the scene, Health Secretary Senthilkumar IAS said multiple ambulances were deployed across the district to reach the victims quickly. He explained that Karur has 19 ambulances under the 108 emergency service. For the event, some were stationed close to the venue, and others a little farther away.
“The first emergency call came at 7.14 pm, and that ambulance entered the venue by 7.20. Another call came at 7.15, and that ambulance reached the spot at 7.22. These were the ambulances that first confirmed that a high number of deaths had occurred,” he said. In addition, seven ambulances arranged earlier by the organisers were already at the site. “Altogether, 33 ambulances were used during this incident, all mobilised based on emergency calls as required.”
On police deployment, ADGP Davidson Devasirvatham clarified that out of a total strength of 1,080 in Karur district, about 500 personnel were initially deployed at the venue.
As the crowd swelled after noon, additional forces were brought in from neighbouring districts, about 20–30 personnel each. “Until around 5 pm, the situation was manageable. Only after 6.30–6.45 pm did things slip out of control,” he said.
Questions had been raised about why post-mortems were conducted at night. Senthilkumar explained that medical staff from Karur Medical College and neighbouring colleges were mobilised to handle the large number of casualties efficiently. “Karur Medical College Hospital has 220 doctors. At the time of the incident, a doctors’ conference was going on in Salem, and as soon as we received word, we sent doctors from there as well,” he said.
“In mass casualty incidents like this, the most common demand from the public is that autopsies be conducted quickly and bodies handed over to families without delay. Acting with that good intent, and in compliance with rules, with the District Collector’s permission, we brought in expert doctors and assistants from neighbouring medical colleges. The post-mortems began on the night of the 27th and continued until 3.45 pm on the 28th, after which the bodies were handed over to the families.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)
