Lalli, a 32-year-old homemaker, is consumed by guilt. She is unable to shake off the feeling that she failed to save her nephew, Thuruvishnu, from being crushed to death at a political rally last week.

On the evening of September 27, 2025, a Saturday, Lalli carried the infant in her arms and walked to the venue of the rally in Karur, a textile hub in Tamil Nadu. Her husband and their two children went as well. They were excited to hear the popular actor, Vijay, address the crowd as president of his fledgling political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The rally was part of the actor-turned-politician’s State-wide tour. Tamil Nadu is scheduled to have Assembly elections in 2026.

At the venue, the crowd kept swelling despite the heat. Vijay arrived several hours late, and there was allegedly little security in place. Many people fainted, while others tried to get closer to Vijay’s vehicle. Chaos erupted and the resulting crowd crush left 41 people dead, including 10 babies, and injured more than 100 people. Most of the adult victims were aged 18-30.

“I thought I could save him. This guilt will stay with me until I die,” says Lalli, who is sitting with family members in Thuruvishnu’s house. The cries of the family echo through the house in Vadivel Nagar in Velusamypuram, barely 50 metres from where Vijay addressed the crowd.

Lalli’s brother Vimal, a 25-year-old daily-wage worker, and his wife Matheswari, 22, had Thuruvishnu two years after getting married. On the morning after the stampede, the couple performed the last rites of their 22 month-old son. He was the youngest to die in the stampede.

Matheswari (centre) lost her 22 month-old son in the crowd crush.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

A deadly cocktail

For the people of Velusamypuram, where houses and textile shops can be found on both sides of the roads, the rally has left deep scars. Many residents insist that the disaster was neither accidental nor unforeseeable, and that it was the outcome of poor planning and official neglect.

Crowds had begun to gather at the spot of the rally, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on September 27, from the previous night. Young men roamed the stretch putting up posters, stringing banners, and blaring TVK songs on loudspeakers.

“By around 10 a.m. on Saturday, many people had already arrived. By 3 p.m., traffic could not move through this road. And by evening, there was simply no space for anyone to even turn,” says G. Sitharam, a resident.

Many believe that the timing of the rally was poor. “Saturday evening is when textile workers collect their wages in Karur. There is already some rush at that time. If you hold a large political rally in such a congested pocket at the same time, you’re just asking for trouble,” says B. Balusamy, another resident.

Vijay arrived late, say residents. Even as thousands of people waited to catch a glimpse of the actor, thousands more came from neighbouring hamlets and districts.

“Had he kept to the schedule, people would have left early. But he arrived after 7 p.m. The town was overflowing with people by then,” says V. Balaji, a textile worker from Gowripuram in Karur town.

Also read:Karur stampede: a package on the tragedy at Vijay’s TVK rally in Tamil Nadu

Residents also allege that they had little access to basic needs, especially drinking water. Karur has a hot, semi-arid climate and while September marks the end of the hottest season, temperatures during the day can soar to 37-38°C.

“People stood in the sun for hours. I saw children faint, and boys climbing transformers just to catch a glimpse of Vijay,” says G. Chitra, a homemaker and resident of Velusamypuram. “There was only one hotel nearby, which was open. But the food there was too expensive for workers and daily-wage families. In the surrounding shops, there was no food available.”

Lalli recalls the moments before the stampede occurred. “When Vijay began to speak, there was a power cut, and the mic failed. The crowd grew restless. I was holding Thuruvishnu in one hand and my daughter in the other when someone shoved us. I fell and he slipped from my arms.”

For two hours, a hapless Lalli, who was injured herself, searched the lanes, before being admitted to the Karur Medical College Hospital. She learned only the next morning that her nephew had been found dead. Thuruvishnu’s father, Vimal, had recognised him in TV footage from the government hospital. He had rushed to the spot to find his son’s small body on a stretcher.

A descent into chaos

Karur residents draw parallels with other recent political gatherings, including by the two main parties in the State — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

K. Veeramani, a resident of Velusamypuram, says, “The DMK’s Mupperum Vizha drew a much larger crowd. [Mupperum Vizha is a festival held in honour of icons of the Dravidian movement, such as Periyar and party founder C.N. Annadurai.] But it was held near the ring road, where there is space. Even the Opposition leader, Edappadi Palaniswami [of the AIADMK], addressed a meeting here two days earlier without incident. Why did this collapse into chaos?”

Participants say trouble began when Vijay’s vehicle started moving through the crowd on one of the carriageways of the road with a median. His vehicle inched its way to the selected spot, where he was to address the gathering.

As people, including those who had been waiting since morning, tried to get closer to the vehicle, a major commotion broke out. People were pushed back and many lost their balance and fell on the road, say residents. Minutes after Vijay climbed on a makeshift stage atop his vehicle, frantic people tried to leave the area any which way, to save their lives.

Amid this confusion, Vijay delivered a few minutes of his speech. The atmosphere turned electric when he broke into a jingle, targeting former State Minister V. Senthilbalaji in connection with a money-laundering case.

Photos and videos that emerged later show people throwing footwear towards the campaign vehicle while Vijay was speaking. Some video clips showed lathi-wielding policemen charging at some people in the crowd. On hearing the frantic cries of people in the crowd, Vijay tossed water bottles at them. A video also showed the actor pausing his speech when he saw ambulances struggling to make their way through the crowd.

It was only when he seemed to realise the magnitude of the situation that Vijay cut short his speech. He quickly left the venue, went to Tiruchi, which is nearly two hours away by road, and flew to Chennai on a chartered plane; this drew a lot of criticism. He ignored journalists at the airport. Hours later, the actor posted on X, expressing grief over the incident and offering condolences to those killed.

According to officials of the Karur Medical College Hospital, 39 of the victims were brought in dead, while two others died later. A senior doctor says the primary cause of death was compressive asphyxia, triggered by intense pressure on the chest during the crowd surge. “Many people collapsed within minutes of being caught in the crush,” the doctor says, adding that in some cases, he found rib and spinal fractures.

The First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Karur town police on September 27 says Vijay’s arrival was deliberately delayed so more people could come to the rally. It says the police warned TVK leaders of the cadre’s behaviour, but their warnings were not heeded. It also says that while the organisers had stated that 10,000 people would come, more than 25,000 people turned up at the rally.

The people, who waited in large numbers for several hours without food, water, and medical assistance, became fatigued due to the heat and crowding, which consequently led to a crush resulting in multiple deaths, the FIR adds.

The police charged TVK’s Karur (west) district secretary V.P. Mathiyazhagan, party general secretary A ‘Bussy’ Anand, State joint general secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar and others under Sections 105 (culpable homicide), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), and 125 (b) (endangering life of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1982. They have arrested Mathiyazhagan and central town secretary M.C. Pounraj and remanded them in judicial custody.

The blame game

The tragedy, believed to be the first of its kind in a political rally in India, drew nationwide attention. As soon as news of it broke, President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and leaders of various political parties expressed grief and shock over the tragedy.

The State government responded swiftly, arranging medical aid and overnight autopsies, and promptly handed over the bodies to the grieving families. It also constituted a one-member Commission of Inquiry by retired High Court Judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe the tragedy.

Justice Aruna Jagatheesan, the one-woman inquiry commission formed to investigate the stampede, visits Velusamypuram in Karur, the site of the incident.
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

Hours after the tragedy, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin flew down to Tiruchi and drove to Karur past midnight, to console the bereaved families and call on the injured. The government directed doctors and specialists to the Karur Government Medical College Hospital, to take care of the people who continued to arrive in ambulances until late at night.

He later gave a statement saying, “No political party leader would ever wish for their followers or innocent civilians to die. When political parties and public organisations conduct such events, it is the duty of all of us to establish rules on how to act responsibly in the future.”

The next day, AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami and a host of leaders of various political parties also visited the injured at the hospital. Palaniswami blamed the police for failing to provide adequate security. Terming the probe panel an “eyewash”, he demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The TVK has moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, also seeking a CBI inquiry into the tragedy.

The BJP constituted an eight-member delegation of Members of Parliament (MP) of the National Democratic Alliance, led by MP Hema Malini, to study the reasons for the stampede. The team visited Karur on September 30 and interacted with the survivors. They demanded an impartial probe led by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. Malini told reporters that the venue was “inappropriate” for a rally held for thousands of people. She said that both the organisers and the administration should be held accountable. A day before the team visited the district, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman also visited Karur and consoled families who lost loved ones.

The incident has emerged as a rallying point for the TVK and the main Opposition parties, including the AIADMK and the BJP, to hold the DMK government responsible for the tragedy. The State government has strongly refuted the charges made against it.

Vijay, who has not yet visited the grieving families or the injured being treated in hospitals, issued a video statement three days after the tragedy. “As a human being, how could I leave the place when so many people were affected? I chose not to go there immediately only to avoid the risk of any further unforeseen incidents,” he said. He also addressed the Chief Minister and told him with a dramatic flourish to “take revenge against him, and spare the TVK cadre”.

What the police say

The police say Velusamypuram is often identified by political parties as a location for public meetings. According to S. Davidson Devasirvatham, Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, the organisers had originally sought permission for the rally at the light house roundabout. This was denied on the grounds that it was not a suitable location to hold a meeting. A day later, they sought permission at the Uzhavar Sandhai. They were denied permission again, on the grounds that the location was narrow. Finally, they were allotted Velusamypuram, and the organisers consented to this.

Karthick from Erode district, who is one of the survivors, is critical of the police. “Only a few policemen were standing along the side of the road. Many of the policemen were posted in the outer ring of the meeting spot, only to regulate the traffic,” he says. “Only around 10-15 policemen were walking alongside or in front of the vehicle. The tragedy could have been prevented if more policemen had been posted at the meeting spot and a large venue had been provided.”

Dismissing the accusations, Devasirvatham says there was adequate security in place. The police deployment was in a ratio of 1:20 (police-public), he says. As the crowd swelled, Devasirvatham says more policemen were called in from the neighbouring districts.

A policeman on the condition of anonymity says the situation caused panic, even among the police. “I saw a person try and get a glimpse of the actor and slip and fall near his vehicle. The crowd trampled over him. Many people, who became tired and dehydrated, fell down on the road, only to be crushed by others. No one came forward to save the injured. Everybody was focused only on catching a glimpse of Vijay.” He says he lifted up seven people trapped in the crowd. Of them, he laments that he could save only one.

While some blame the DMK and others blame Vijay for the tragedy, for many people, grief has not turned into anger against the actor. Sanjay, who lost his 7-year-old brother S. Kirthikyadav in the crowd crush, feels the actor cannot be held fully responsible. “Thalapathy [the honorific name popularly used for Vijay] would never have wanted this for us. If it had been in his control, he would have stopped it. He would never allow something like this to happen to any of us,” he says.

Lalli, too, echoes the sentiment. “We are Vijay’s fans. He is like family to us,” she says.

Neela, Thiruvishnu’s aunt, sits besides Matheswari. She says the mother, who suffers a speech and hearing impairment, is in shock. “The pain in her eyes says it all.”