According to sources, a total of 46 rooms had been booked at the hotel, and the families were accommodated there from 26 October.
Published Oct 27, 2025 | 4:44 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 27, 2025 | 4:48 PM
Vijay met the the families of Karur stampede victims. Credit: x.com/Devanayagam
Synopsis: Actor and TVK leader Vijay met families of the 41 victims of the Karur stampede at a Mamallapuram hotel, spending over 30 minutes with each, offering support and crying with them. Families alleged receiving ₹30 lakh offers to skip the meeting and reported threats and discrepancies in death certificates, raising concerns about official records.
Actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay on Monday met the families of those who lost their lives in the Karur stampede tragedy. The meeting took place at a private hotel in Mamallapuram, where Vijay spoke to each family for at least half an hour.
Family members who attended the meeting told us that Vijay broke down and wept while speaking to them.
They also alleged that, until the day before the meeting, they were approached with offers of up to ₹30 lakh to dissuade them from coming to meet Vijay. They alleged that local DMK leaders made bribe offers but refused to identify the leaders or their position in the party.
On 27 September, 41 people were killed in a stampede during a TVK rally in Karur. Exactly one month later, on 27 October, Vijay met the victims’ families individually at a private resort in Mamallapuram.
More than 30 families attended the meeting. TVK members handled all arrangements — from bringing the families from Karur to Mamallapuram to dropping them back.
According to sources, a total of 46 rooms had been booked at the hotel, and the families were accommodated there from 26 October. The following day, Vijay began meeting each family one by one, spending over half an hour with each.
During the meeting, Vijay reportedly told them, “Whatever help your family needs, I will do it. Ask me for anything — if you need a job, I’ll arrange it. If you need educational support, I’ll provide it. Whatever you need, tell me.”
A family member who had lost his relatives in the stampede said, “Vijay sir spoke with us for half an hour. He broke down and cried while talking. He asked me what I needed, but I told him I didn’t want anything — my children are gone. They said they had arranged some insurance support and that they could help if I wanted to move and find new work, but I refused.”
“When we spoke over a video call earlier, I had only one request — I wanted a photo with Vijay sir holding my children’s picture. My children died while trying to see him at the rally. Today, that wish has been fulfilled — he took a photo with their picture.”
The same family member further alleged that the day before the meeting, local leaders of the ruling DMK contacted his relatives, offering ₹30 lakh to dissuade them from attending the meeting with Vijay.
He also claimed that even the bus driver who brought them from Karur was threatened and told not to go on the trip. He, however, did not name the leaders who allegedly issued him threats.
Raising doubts about the official records, he added, “The death certificates say that my children had already died before reaching the hospital. But I carried my baby in my arms to the hospital — she was still alive. I don’t understand why they mentioned it that way.”
He began to cry uncontrollably while speaking, and when tried to console him, he said in a broken voice, “My children are gone. What difference does it make now who gets punished?” — before ending the call.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
