Karur stampede: What’s next for Vijay? From bomb threat to courtroom drama, blame game erupts after…

Karur Stampede Unfolded:  A perfect plan to make a victorious campaign of superstar-turned-politician Vijay in the historic town of Karur, that was supposed to jolt the political ground of Tamil Nadu, ended in panic and chaos after a series of mistakes, claiming 41 lives. But what went wrong? Chaos erupted among a sea of Vijay’s fanatics as the actor’s van window was shut, wrong announcements from the organisers, hundreds of people chasing the convoy and then a tree branch collapsing on the crowd. All this happened simultaneously and within 10 minutes the panic turned into a dreadful stampede.

What Went Wrong?

The death toll has risen to 41 after a 65-year-old woman who was undergoing treatment at a hospital succumbed to her injuries. Suguna, a resident of Karur district, was on on a ventilator. 18 women, 13 men, five young girls, and five young boys were among the deceased. Chief Minister of the state MK Stalin flew to Karur in the same night and met families of the deceased, announcing a compensation of Rs 10 lakh According to officials, postmortem of 30 victims had been completed and bodies were handed over to families.

As per several sources (including eyewitnesses, police officers, and Vijay’s close aides), the actor’s mega rally ended at around 3.30 pm after which hundreds of followers started chasing his convoy. A top source, a part of Vijay’s convoy, stated that the black sliding window of the campaign vehicle had been closed to stop people from following the bus. But sadly, it had opposite effect, more people started following the bus to take a glimpse of Vijay.

“There were strict instructions not to follow his vehicle from one place to another, as Karur already had an overwhelming crowd. The people there were waiting for him from the morning, even though he arrived late at around 7 pm. When the huge crowd followed his vehicle also joined the Karur crowd, it went beyond all control. There was an absolute lack of management,” the India(BHARAT)n Express reported citing the source, who is associated with the actor’s outstation campaigns.

Big Question: What Will Happen To Vijay?

The stampede occurred soon after the actor-turned-politician started addressing the crowd in Karur. Sources stated that the dreadful incident happened within 10 minutes. several people who sat on a tree branch to see Vijay collapsed on a crowd.

According to a senior police officer, who was at the spot after the stampede,  “It was one of the reasons that made it this deadly.”

Video clips of the campaign shows that people were screaming as they climbed on top of one another to breathe. As more and more crowd started arriving people started getting suffocated due to the intense heat and overcrowding.

Vijay stopped his address and started throwing water bottles at the crowd to help. But later resumed his speech, not accurately assessing the gravity of the situation.

Following the tragedy, the actor, who is trying to make a space in politics, left for Chennai.

Stalin, who visited Karur after the stampede, was asked bluntly by people if Vijay would be arrested. Addressing the media the CM that he would not answer “questions with political motives”. He stated that actions would be taken based on the report of the Aruna Jagadeesan Committee, which was established soon after the stampede occurred.

As per a senior official, the state government did not contemplate possibility of arresting Vijay.

“Unlike late J Jayalalithaa, Stalin will think 100 times before making such a move and its impact. While there are opinions that the arrest will help him gain sympathy, a section believes that waiting till Monday for the court to take suo moto action might lead to his arrest as well, instead of a hurried move on Sunday,” the India(BHARAT)nExpress quoted the officer as saying.

What Has Deepened The Fury Of People?

What angered people in Karur was the belief that the actor fled after the stamped. He left Karur, flew from Trichy to Chennai, and arrived at his beachside home past midnight. He avoided the media, even though sources say he had already been told about the casualties.

Tamil Nadu CM Stalin was asked bluntly by furious people of Karur – if Vijay would be arrested.

Blame Game Erupts After 41 Die

The blame game in the Karur stampede has started as the death toll mounts to 41. Police rubbished any intelligence failure and stated that Vijay arrived late to the rally and locals had been waiting to take a glimpse of him almost the entire day

FIR filed has been filed at Karur town police station against TVK’s Karur (north) district secretary Madhiazhagan, general secretary Bussy Anand, and joint general secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar. The FIR has been filed under sections 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 105 (culpable homicide), 125 (endangering others’ lives) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The police, who were at the ground, told organisers to stop Vijay’s specially designed campaign bus 50 metres before the spot. “But, they insisted on parking the vehicle at the planned spot. And for 10 minutes, Vijay didn’t come out of the vehicle which turned the crowd restless,” Devasirvatham said.

The TVK counsel alleged a political conspiracy behind the stampede and requested an investigation by any “independent agency.”

A petition was filed by a person named N. Senthilkannan, who sustained injuries at the rally. He filed the petition barring TVK from holding further rallies until the probe into the stampede was complete.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council and BJP MLC, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy slammed the state government and said that it’s a failure of both the state government and actor-politician Vijay.

Karur Stampede: Bomb Threat

On Sunday night, Vijay’s Chennai home came under a security sweep after receiving a bomb threat. Bomb squad and sniffer dogs, along with police rushed to Vijay’s Neelankarai residence. A probe into the threat call is underway.