Tragic Stampede at Vijay's Rally Claims 22-Year-Old Mother Among 40 Victims in Karur

Brinda, a 22-year-old devoted fan of actor-politician Vijay, entrusted her two-year-old son to her sister's care before attending the highly anticipated rally in Karur.

Chennai:

The excitement of seeing her idol turned into tragedy when Brinda, an enthusiastic 22-year-old fan of superstar Vijay, became one of the 40 victims who lost their lives in a devastating stampede at his Karur rally. Nearly 100 others were injured in the incident that has shocked Tamil Nadu.

According to Brinda's sister, they repeatedly tried contacting her after hearing news of the stampede, but received no response. "My sister left her child with me saying she was going to attend the rally. We called her around 4 pm, but she didn't answer. We continued trying, but there was no response. Her phone switched off after 10 pm. It wasn't until this morning when her husband sent her photograph to the organizers that we learned of her death," she explained to NDTV.

Vijay has expressed his profound grief over the incident and announced compensation of Rs 20 lakh for each deceased victim's family and Rs 2 lakh for those injured. In a statement posted on X, he acknowledged, "This amount is, of course, not significant in the face of such a loss. Still, at this moment, it is my duty as one who belongs to your family to stand by you, my dear ones, with a heavy heart. I pray to God that all our loved ones who are injured and undergoing treatment recover swiftly and return home."

Brinda's sister, however, rejected the notion of financial compensation. "If you organize a meeting, ensure there is adequate space, food, and water for attendees. Simply announcing compensation doesn't fix anything. I don't want money—I want my sister back. Can they restore her life?" she questioned emotionally.

As authorities investigate the tragedy, Vijay and his political party TVK face criticism over alleged poor planning and safety violations. Government sources report that while the venue had capacity for approximately 10,000 people, around 27,000 actually attended. The seven-hour delay in Vijay's arrival and insufficient provisions for basic necessities like food and water reportedly contributed to the disaster.

TVK has denied these allegations, instead suggesting a conspiracy by the ruling DMK party. The party's legal representative, Arivazhagan, told NDTV that TVK has petitioned the Madras High Court to establish a Special Investigation Team or transfer the case to the CBI, claiming the delays resulted from inadequate traffic management rather than organizational failures.