The Karur stampede in Tamil Nadu on September 27, 2025, during the rally of Tamil actor-turned-politician Vijay turned deadly, claiming 39 lives and injuring more than 50. The rally, convened by Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), witnessed a huge turnout, in fact larger than anticipated resulting in chaos and the stampede killing people as thousands massed in the scorching heat.
The stampede was said to have started around 7:30 PM when Vijay was speaking to the mass of people. Witnesses and authorities reported a group of individuals fainted and fell attempting to reach Vijay's bus, causing the panicking crowds that resulted in the fatalities. Eyewitnesses and police added that Vijay was late by a period of six hours, as he had another rally in the morning in Namakkal. The delay helped add to the congestion, as many of his supporters waited, some without water or food, worsening conditions for a secure meeting. Crowd overloading and inadequate crowd management were universally blamed as major causes of the disaster, compounded by the intense heat and heightened emotions of the crowds.
During the disaster, controversy erupted proposing that Vijay egotistically went on talking and later escaped, and left others to their fate while ambulances struggled to reach victims. Have a look at the following tweets suggesting the allegations on him:
But several reports and eye-witness testimonies told that Vijay did interrupt his speech briefly on being informed that people were collapsing and falling unconscious. Ambulances were able to approach the rally in spite of the commotion. There was no report to support the allegations that Vijay ran away from the site; he instead offered his condolence and deep regret for the victims at the earliest opportunity. Authorities commended prompt action by police and medical staff, and a commission of inquiry was appointed to probe the incident and shortcomings of crowd control thoroughly. This seems to be the fact for now as the investigation will find details meanwhile in the coming months.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin termed the accident as extremely distressing and instructed instant medical intervention and investigations. Compensation packages have been announced for the dead and injured. Other political figures, such as the President, Vice President, and Prime Minister, offered condolences and sympathised with the families of the victims. A former High Court judge heads the commission investigating the incident, emphasising the reasons and means of prevention in the future. Hospital admissions and treatments for the victims are still being monitored by the authorities.
The Karur stampede was a senseless fallout of poor crowd control, belated timings, and overwrought crowd spirit at the political rally of Vijay. The story that Vijay egotistically fled after his speech has no evidence to support it. Instead, he broke off from his speech after he became aware of the risk and assisted with emergency measures. The attention still is on how tragedies like these could be avoided in future public events through more effective planning and safety procedures.
