TVK Stampede: Madras High Court Slams Vijay For 'Fleeing Scene', Orders SIT Probe Into Karur Tragedy

Chennai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court strongly criticised Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leaders over the tragic stampede in Karur that claimed 41 lives, including children's. The court observed that party chief Vijay "fed from the scene of occurrence" and that the party had shown no remorse.

The bench ordered the formation of a Special Investigation team (SIT) under senior IPS officer Asra Garg.

VIDEO | Madurai: The petitioner who filed a PIL seeking a ban on roadshows after the Karur stampede moves High Court, alleging he received a threat call from the TVK district secretary.

Amaravel Pandian, the petitioner’s advocate, says, “After today’s court hearing, a person… pic.twitter.com/6hpT9HK22I

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Here's what the Court said

Justice Senthilkumar said that the tragedy was mishandled and reflected the “mental state” of the actor-turned-politician. The court condemned Vijay’s disappearance from the spot when women and children were dying, questioning the organisers’ and police’s accountability. “As an event organiser, don’t you have any responsibility?” the bench asked, as quoted by India Today.

The court also pointed to video footage showing two-wheelers trapped under a TVK bus, accusing the driver of “hit and run” and questioning why police had not registered a case. It directed action against TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna over a controversial post and said it could not “close its eyes” to a man-made disaster.

Anticipatory bail orders reserved

The bench reserved orders on the anticipatory bail pleas of TVK leaders Bussy Anand and CTR Nirmal Kumar. Senior counsel V Raghavachari argued that the leaders had no intent to harm cadres and said the crowd lost control only after a police lathi charge. He alleged that chemicals were thrown, causing people to faint, and maintained that responsibility lay with the state for failing to reject the venue or manage the crowd.

Additional Advocate General J Ravindran countered that TVK itself misled supporters by tweeting that the event would begin at 12:00 pm despite permission for 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. He said 559 police personnel were deployed for the rally, far more than for other campaign events, and accused TVK leaders of acting irresponsibly.