TN Govt Tells Supreme Court: Vijay’s “Intentional Delay”, TVK’s Misleading Announcements Led to Karur Stampede
The Tamil Nadu government has told the Supreme Court that the tragic Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives, was the result of a series of “reckless and poorly coordinated actions” by the organisers and workers of actor Vijay’s political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
In a detailed affidavit submitted to the top court, the state said Vijay had deliberately delayed his arrival at the Karur venue by nearly seven hours, allegedly to draw a much larger crowd. According to the state’s timeline, Vijay left Chennai at 8:40 am and reached Tiruchirappalli by 9:25 am. He then travelled to Namakkal for another event before heading to Karur, causing the massive delay.
The government stressed that the district police had begun making security and crowd-management arrangements from 10 am on September 27, and everything was in place hours before the event. However, the official TVK X (formerly Twitter) handle announced that Vijay would reach at 12 pm—completely contradicting the schedule approved by the authorities.
The affidavit further states that TVK’s general secretary also released a press statement that encouraged people to gather early. As a result, thousands of supporters started arriving from 9:30 am, creating huge crowds, heavy traffic, and rising frustration among attendees who were waiting for hours under the harsh sun without basic facilities—leading to dehydration and exhaustion.
Despite these challenges, the state said the police managed the situation well and maintained order until Vijay finally arrived. It emphasised that there were no signs of a stampede before Vijay reached, implying that the chaos erupted only after his delayed arrival triggered a surge in the crowd.
On October 13, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI investigation into the stampede, saying the incident had shocked the conscience of the nation. A three-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi is overseeing the probe.
Police earlier noted that around 27,000 people attended the rally—almost triple the expected turnout of 10,000—and reiterated that Vijay’s seven-hour delay played a major role in the deadly incident.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
