TN Stampede: No intelligence failure: Police, TVK alleges conspiracy

In Tamil Nadu, the death toll in Karur stampede incident at a political rally of Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) rose to 40. According to the Director of Medical Education today, 81 persons are under treatment and two patients are in critical condition and are on a ventilator. Meanwhile, The Tamil Nadu police has maintained that "It was not an intelligence failure... There were adequate streetlights there... Yes, some conditions were violated. A case has been registered and the investigation will reveal who all are involved." ADGP Law and Order, S. Davidson Devasirvatham gave details about the incident.

#WATCH | Karur, Tamil Nadu: On the Karur stampede, ADGP Law and Order, S. Davidson Devasirvatham says, "...they (TVK) requested permission to conduct this event at a place called Light House Raundana. This was not accepted by the police because it was considered a high-risk… pic.twitter.com/2pDGtjRxix

— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2025

Tamilnadu DGP G.Venkataraman said that the X handle of the Party had mentioned that the actor politician Vijay would arrive at the venue by 12 noon whereas the actor had turned up at 7.40 pm and the people were without water and food till then. He also said that the turnout was higher than expected and the organisers were informed about it. He said TVK Party’s general secretary N. Anand and four others have been booked over the stampede. According to Karur Collector M. Thangavel, a total of 40 people have died in the stampede so far.

In a related development, the founder of TVK, Actor turned politician Vijay, has announced that 20 lakhs rupees assistance would be given to the family of the bereaved. A statement after a closed-door meeting with his party officials at Panaiyur, Chennai he stated that the expenses to treat those who are admitted at the hospitals will be borne by him. Actor-politician Vijay’s TVK announced on Sunday that it will approach the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court to demand an independent probe into the Karur rally stampede that claimed 40 lives, including 10 children. The party alleged the tragedy was not accidental, citing stone-pelting in the crowd and a police lathi-charge at the venue, and called it a possible “conspiracy.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of two lakh rupees from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate incident in Karur. The injured would be given fifty thousand rupees. Reacting to the crowd crush, the senior Congress leader Shahi Tharoor said that such tragedies highlight flaws in the country's crowd management. Tharoor further added that it was heartbreaking to see such tragedies happen repeatedly, recalling the Bengaluru stampede which killed 11.