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Relatives mourning a man killed in a stampede that broke out during a campaign rally for Indian actor-turned-politician Vijay.
– Police charged three close aides of a popular actor-turned-politician with culpable homicide and negligence on Sept 28 after a stampede at his rally in southern India killed at least 40 people, officials said.
Some 27,000 people thronged a public road in Tamil Nadu state in hopes of seeing Vijay, who is known by one name, on Sept 28, but panic broke out, triggering a deadly crush .
Such crowd incidents happen frequently during mass gatherings in India and are often blamed on lax safety measures.
Vijay, who launched his party – Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) – in 2024, has drawn huge crowds at campaign events ahead of state elections due in 2026.
Police on Sept 28 filed a criminal case, the first step towards potential charges, “against TVK party senior leaders Bussy Anand, Nirmal Kumar and V.P. Mathiyalagan”, senior police official V. Selvaraj told Reuters.
“A case has been registered and the investigation will reveal all who are involved,” senior police officer S. Davidson Devasirvatham said.
All three have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligent conduct endangering human life.
Witnesses cited hours of delays, insufficient police presence and people falling from a tree branch and landing on the crowd as contributing to the tragedy.
Vijay was addressing the rally when the crowd surged suddenly, forcing him to halt his speech in Karur district.
Videos on social media showed him tossing water bottles to supporters shortly before the panic broke out.
“I am at a loss for words to express the pain my heart endures,” the 51-year-old star said in a statement on Sept 28.
“This is indeed an irreparable loss for us,” he said, adding that he would pay two million rupees (S$29,000) to each of the victims’ families as compensation.
Senior district official M. Thangavel said 40 people had been killed in the stampede , raising an earlier toll of 39 . Nine children were among the dead.
Huge crowds
State police chief G. Venkataraman said crowds had been waiting for hours under the searing sun without sufficient food and water after the public was informed that Vijay would arrive by noon.
“The crowds started coming in from 11am. He came at 7.40pm. The people lacked sufficient food and water under the hot sun,” he told reporters. He added that 10,000 people were expected but about 27,000 turned up.
Poor organisation
“I was pushed down by the crowd all of a sudden. There was absolutely no space to move,” Mr B. Kanishka, a survivor, told The Hindu newspaper. “I subsequently fainted.”
Others said poor organisation and the hours-long wait left people restless before the situation spiralled dangerously out of control.
Another survivor told the publication that the situation could have been prevented if people were not forced to wait for hours together , noting that poor planning and execution of the programme as well as the lack of police personnel were contributory factors too .
The Indian Express newspaper said panic spread after supporters who climbed onto a tree branch fell onto people below.
State Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced compensation of one million rupees per family. The state has appointed a commission led by a retired judge to investigate the cause of the stampede.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X saying that the incident is “deeply saddening”.
In January, 30 people were killed in a crush at a major religious fair. In 2024, 121 people died during a Hindu prayer meeting in Uttar Pradesh. AFP, REUTERS
[SRC] https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/massive-crowd-chaos-preceded-india-rally-stampede-that-left-39-dead
