In the aftermath of the Karur stampede that killed 41 people at actor-politician Vijay’s rally, the DMK appears to have chosen caution over confrontation. The police FIR, accessed by The Indian Express, names three senior organisers of Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) — district secretary Mathiyalagan, state general secretary ‘Bussy’ Anand, and deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar — but not the star himself. Moreover, Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a video statement on Monday that “no political leader would ever wish for their followers or innocent civilians to die,” and urged people to set aside “irresponsible and malicious news” as the one-person judicial inquiry under Justice (Retd) Aruna Jagadeesan proceeds with its probe.
The FIR has charged the organisers with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, endangering the life of others, and disobedience to lawful order, in addition to provisions under the state’s public property law. It states that permission was granted for 10,000 people, yet more than 25,000 gathered; that Vijay’s delayed entry, unplanned roadshows, and stoppages in the middle of surging crowds “created unnecessary expectation” and “led to abnormal circumstances”; and that collapsing tin sheds and falling trees triggered “suffocation, grievous injuries, and loss of life.” By Monday, officials confirmed 41 deaths, including 18 women and 10 children.
DMK’s restraint, politically and at the government level, appears rooted in the raw arithmetic of Vijay’s popularity. While the FIR lists lapses from Vijay’s camp, there’s also a narrative running in the opposite direction. On social media, especially Instagram reels and WhatsApp forwards, viral posts allege that the ruling party engineered the stampede, accusing local DMK leaders of orchestrating the chaos. None of these claims hold up to scrutiny, but they travel faster and wider than official statements.
“In such a climate, even a measured police case against Vijay could backfire, recasting him as a victim of political vendetta,” a top source in the government said.
Stalin, in a carefully worded video message, did not name Vijay, but assured that the one-person Commission of Inquiry would deliver a report on the basis of which the government would consult all parties to frame new guidelines for political rallies. “I appeal to everyone to put aside political differences, personal conflicts, and enmities, and to focus solely on the welfare of the people,” he said.
Senior DMK leaders said naming Vijay could trigger a sympathy wave for the star, complicating the DMK’s calculations ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Revelations in FIR
According to the FIR, the television channels had on Saturday announced that Vijay would arrive at Karur by noon. The FIR vividly describes how the crowds began to gather from mid-morning under the scorching sun. But he entered Karur only at 4.45 pm, “conducting multiple unsanctioned roadshows en route.” “By the time he reached Veluchamipuram Junction at 7 pm, thousands were crammed into a narrow space,” the FIR said.
“Despite the fact that I (Karur town inspector), along with the Deputy Superintendent of Police, repeatedly warned and advised the TVK District Secretary Mathiyalagan, the General Secretary Bussy Ananth, the Joint Secretary CTR Nirmalkumar, and several other TVK administrators, they did not heed our words and continued to engage in abnormal activities. Though the police provided adequate security, Mathiyalagan and other administrators failed to properly regulate their cadres. Instead, party cadres were made to climb and sit on the nearby narrow sloping tin sheds (erected to provide shade to shops) and also on the nearby trees. As a result, when the tin shed collapsed and the tree broke, the cadres sitting on them fell upon the general public standing below. This caused suffocation to most of the public, creating a dangerous situation,” the FIR states.
Although permission had been granted to TVK district administrators for Vijay’s public meeting from 3.00 pm to 10 pm, with a strict condition that the event must be conducted within the specified time, the FIR said that “the party administrators – intending to demonstrate political strength through a massive crowd – deliberately delayed Vijay’s arrival in Karur by four hours.”
“Because of this long delay, thousands of people who had been waiting for hours became exhausted in the heat and thirst. The prolonged waiting, coupled with a lack of sufficient drinking water and medical facilities, and the excessive crowd pressure, caused deterioration in people’s physical condition. As a consequence, in this incident, there was severe trampling in the crowd…” the FIR said.
A senior officer said Vijay stayed inside his campaign vehicle far too long, heightening the crowd’s restlessness. “The venue hardly had room for his vehicle to enter, but still they pushed the vehicle inside,” a senior officer noted. Organisers pushed to take Vijay another 50 meters through the packed mass, an officer said, adding that they are collecting evidence of Vijay’s alleged play with a “light game” — flicking on and off a small reading lamp that lit up his face inside the vehicle. Each flash, they said, sent the crowd into fresh waves of frenzy, excitement turning quickly into agitation as he turned it off. “We are gathering visuals of this alleged incident,” the officer said.
When the star emerged briefly, the crowd surged forward. Police resorted to a lathi-charge to regain control as fainting victims were rushed to hospitals. Police are also investigating complaints of party cadres allegedly stopping ambulances and taking away vehicle keys to prevent them from entering the crowd. Among the dead were a two-year-old boy and a 65-year-old woman, underscoring the demographic spread of the tragedy.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi called both Stalin and Vijay, expressing condolences and calling for swift relief. Police received an anonymous bomb threat at Vijay’s residence in Neelankarai on Monday. Though no explosives were found, the episode deepened the sense of siege around the star.
Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, who heads the inquiry commission, visited injured patients at the Karur Government Medical College Hospital and promised a “detailed report” once her probe concludes.
Even as forensic teams combed the rally site, the DMK leadership worked to emphasise systemic solutions over personal blame. “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,” Stalin said.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), for its part, formed a fact-finding team. The team’s preliminary note cited poor crowd management, inadequate medical facilities, and political grandstanding as compounding factors.