Tamil Nadu police have dismissed claims of inadequate personnel deployment during the Thamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay’s rally in Karur, where a stampede on Saturday evening resulted in 39 deaths and nearly 100 injuries.
Amid criticism that the 500 police officers deployed were unable to control the crowd, ADGP (Law & Order) Davidson Devasirvatham stated that the number of personnel was proportionate to the expected turnout. “The Karur event was categorised as high-risk. We deployed 500 personnel in the ratio of one cop for every 50 people, anticipating 25,000 people, 2.5 times more than what the organisers themselves had expected. Ultimately, nearly 27,000 people turned up,” he explained, according to an NDTV report.
Devasirvatham cited previous examples to demonstrate consistent police deployment at Vijay’s political events: 650 personnel in Trichy, 287 in Ariyalur, 480 in Perambalur, 410 in Nagapattinam, 413 in Tiruvarur, and 279 in Namakkal, where 34 people suffered heatstroke and required hospitalisation.
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He contrasted this with the recent rally of AIADMK chief and Leader of Opposition Edappadi Palaniswami at the same Karur venue, where only 137 police officers were deployed, “as it was an orderly crowd.”
The ADGP acknowledged the chaotic situation during Vijay’s rally. “Yesterday, we couldn’t even move the injured through the crowd. Even Vijay himself could not be taken out,” he said.
Addressing concerns about ambulance availability, Devasirvatham clarified that TVK had arranged two ambulances as per the agreed conditions. “After the stampede, police alerted the local station, and nearly 10 ambulances were mobilised from private hospitals,” he added, dismissing reports of stone pelting.
How The Chaos Began
Devasirvatham attributed the turmoil to delays and restlessness among the crowd. Vijay’s Namakkal campaign, scheduled for 12 noon, was delayed by four hours. The actor-politician left at 4:15 pm, entered Karur by 6:00 pm, and boarded his campaign van.
“There was a huge urge among people to see him. The crowd followed his vehicle for nearly an hour. TVK organisers did not agree to Vijay’s request to stop his vehicle 50 metres ahead of the designated spot. For 10 minutes after arrival, none could see him. The crowd turned restless, and there was a sudden surge,” he said.
He added that many supporters had arrived by 11:00 am and waited for hours without food and water, which may have worsened the situation. “An incident happened on the sides of the crowd, which we are still investigating,” he noted.
Power Supply Clarification
Responding to allegations of mismanagement, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Department confirmed uninterrupted power supply in Karur during the rally. However, TVK organisers, who had arranged their own generators and lighting, experienced disruptions amid the crowd surge.
While police maintain that the party violated agreed conditions, the TVK has accused them of failing to manage traffic and ensure smooth crowd dispersal, calling this the primary cause of the stampede. The party plans to approach the Madras High Court seeking an independent probe, alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by the ruling DMK, a charge strongly denied by the Dravidian party.
