Tamil Nadu Government Presents Detailed Defense Against TVK Allegations in Deadly Karur Stampede Investigation

The devastating stampede that occurred on Saturday in Tamil Nadu's Karur resulted in 41 fatalities.

In Chennai, amid escalating accusations between political entities, the Tamil Nadu government presented a comprehensive rebuttal on Tuesday to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) claims of administrative negligence regarding the Karur rally tragedy.

During a dedicated press conference, high-ranking officials including Additional Chief Secretary Amudha, ADGP Davidson Devasirvatham, DGP in-charge Venkataraman, and the Health Secretary defended the state's management of the event. They emphasized that proper security and medical provisions were implemented, supporting their statements with video evidence.

Regarding attendance and security arrangements, officials explained that TVK initially requested smaller venues before the larger ground in Karur was approved. While the party projected an attendance of approximately 10,000 people, government authorities anticipated up to 20,000 based on Vijay's previous gatherings.

Additional Chief Secretary Amudha stated, "The standard police deployment ratio is typically 1:50. For the Karur event, we maintained a ratio of 1:20, with over 1,000 police personnel deployed, plus additional senior officers." Officials observed that crowd surges began around 3 pm, well before Vijay's arrival, with substantial numbers also joining from the actor's convoy. "The crowd eventually exceeded 25,000 as evening approached," she noted.

The government firmly rejected TVK's allegation about a power outage causing panic. "The grid provided continuous power. What failed was the organizers' hired generator, which stopped functioning after barricades were breached and the crowd severed the cable supplying focus lights," authorities explained, presenting video evidence to validate this claim.

Addressing accusations of police lathi-charge, officials maintained that law enforcement acted with restraint, noting that Vijay himself had publicly expressed gratitude to the police, acknowledging he couldn't have reached the venue without their assistance.

The Health Secretary confirmed that multiple 108 ambulances were positioned at the venue and nearby locations. "Ambulances began transporting victims to Karur Medical College Hospital within minutes of the incident. Emergency protocols were properly followed," the official affirmed.

Regarding criticism about conducting post-mortems at night, Amudha clarified this was done at the families' request to enable prompt release of the deceased. "Post-mortems commenced after 7 pm and continued late into the night, allowing grieving relatives to perform last rites the following morning," she explained.

The state government maintained that despite meticulous planning, attendance significantly exceeded expectations, and chaos erupted when barriers were breached. "No administrative shortcomings occurred," the officials emphasized, highlighting that both police and health departments responded promptly under extraordinary circumstances. Two TVK district secretaries have been arrested, while two other leaders, including second-in-command Bussi Anand, have petitioned the court for anticipatory bail.

In a related development, actor Vijay's TVK has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Madras High Court requesting a CBI investigation into the tragedy and directions ensuring Vijay isn't prevented from visiting the families of the deceased.