NDA-BJP delegation reaches Karur, inspects stampede site

Karur (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 30 (ANI): An eight-member NDA-BJP leaders' delegation has reached Karur, where a stampede on September 27, during a public event of TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) chief and actor Vijay, claimed 41 lives.

BJP MPs Hema Malini, Aparajita Sarangi, Anurag Thakur and other members of the delegation inspect the site in Karur on Tuesday where the stampede broke out.

An eyewitness claimed that TVK's Aadhav Arjuna went up to Vijay and said that people are fainting, after which water bottles were thrown from the vehicle. 

"TVK's Aadhav Arjuna went up to Vijay and said that people are fainting. They immediately started throwing water bottles from the vehicle...Local administration failed...The road was 19 ft, and the vehicle itself was 12 ft... After the commotion started, he ended the speech and left...Vijay was present for 10 minutes...," an eyewitness told the BJP-NDA delegation in Karur. 

"Within 3-4 minutes after Vijay started speaking, people started fainting. Commotion started and then an ambulance came - that too caused commotion. All of us started running...It took one hour to clear everything...Several people who were not from here were in the crowd...Why did people push us to the ditch and not to the other side?...," said another eyewitness. 

Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur said that the delegation of BJP-NDA leaders will first hear the views of the people who lost their family members in the stampede before collecting feedback from officials and submitting a report regarding the tragic incident.

"...Let us first hear the views of the people who lost their family members, ask the local people, officials, get the feedback and then we will submit our report," Thakur, who is a part of the BJP-NDA delegation, told ANI.

The delegation will investigate the circumstances that led to the September 27 stampede, meet with affected families, and submit a report. 

BJP chief JP Nadda has constituted a delegation, which includes BJP MPs Anurag Thakur, Tejasvi Surya, Braj Lal, Aprajita Sarangi, Rekha Sharma, and Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena, as well as Putta Mahesh Kumar from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). BJP MP Hema Malini is the convenor of the committee.

Meanwhile, Karur City Police have arrested Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) Karur West District Secretary, Mathiyazhagan, in connection with the stampede during the party chief Vijay's rally, which claimed 41 lives, ADGP Davidson Devasirvatham told ANI.

Police have also arrested Paun Raj, the Karur town functionary who arranged flagpoles and flex banners for the rally. Paun Raj was arrested as he provided shelter to TVK functionary Mathiyazhagan, the ADGP said over a phone call.

According to Chennai Police, YouTuber and journalist Felix Gerald has also been arrested in connection with the incident.

The incident occurred when a massive crowd at Vijay's rally in Karur reportedly turned chaotic, triggering panic among the crowd. As several attendees fainted, they were rushed to nearby hospitals.

The loss of lives in the tragic stampede on Saturday has gone up to 41 and includes 18 women and 10 children.

Earlier on Monday, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with Union Minister L Murugan and Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran, met the families of the victims.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin constituted a one-member commission headed by retired High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe the incident.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for the establishment of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for crowd management at large public events. CM Stalin also stressed the need for political parties and public organisations to implement strict guidelines for organising public gatherings in a responsible manner. (ANI)