Tamil Nadu police have said that actor-politician Vijay’s delayed arrival at his party’s rally in Karur contributed to the massive crowd that eventually led to a stampede, leaving 39 people dead.
Director General of Police G. Venkataraman said that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Vijay would arrive at noon on Saturday. However, the leader reached the venue only at 7:40 pm. This delay forced thousands of attendees to wait for hours under the scorching sun without adequate food and water.
Permission for the public meeting was granted for 3 pm to 10 pm, but supporters started arriving from 11 am after seeing TVK’s social media post. “The crowd saw a steep surge after the announcement of his arrival time. He came seven hours late, and people had to wait without basic facilities,” Venkataraman said.
The incident, described as a “stampede-like crush” by the Karur district administration, took place at Velusamypuram on the Karur–Erode highway, where thousands had gathered for Vijay’s ‘Velicham Veliyeru’ (Let There Be Light) campaign meeting. Chaos broke out during his address, forcing him to stop mid-speech.
Police said that while the organisers sought permission for 10,000 attendees, about 27,000 people turned up. Security arrangements were made for 20,000 people, but the unexpectedly large turnout strained crowd control efforts.
“Our intention is not to blame anyone, but we are just stating the facts,” Venkataraman said. He added that a larger police deployment could have left less space for people to stand as the meeting was held on a public road.
At present, ADGP (Law and Order) Davidson Devasirvatham, along with three IGs, two DIGs, 10 SPs and 2,000 police personnel, has been deployed to Karur to manage the aftermath.
