CHENNAI: The TVK rally that took a tragic turn at Karur, resulting in a stampede and death of 41 people, has exposed the inability of the police to leverage intelligence in preparing for mass crowds and dynamically manage large, restless, and undisciplined crowd in a public place.
In some official circles, there is a consensus that the intelligence wing could have done a better job to prevent the tragedy, as there were multiple ominous signs. When the police personnel realised they would not be able to control the crowd at Velusamypuram, they should have exercised their powers and asked the organisers to call off the rally, said officials.
Senior officials said as far as maintenance of law and order is concerned, the buck stops with the police. Nonetheless, a training module issued by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) under the Union Home Ministry puts the onus of crowd management on coordinated efforts between the enforcement agencies and the event manager, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in this case.
Before permitting rallies like these, officials vet a few pointers like size of the expected crowd, suitability of the venue, impact on traffic and manoeuvrability of emergency vehicles.
While the police personnel are in charge of checking for risks, setting rules like time limit, and keeping crowd under control, the organisers have to provide correct schedule, and assist the personnel in managing the crowd and arranging basic necessities like toilet, water, and food.
This coordination was clearly lacking in Karur – TVK did not share a clear schedule or route map, making it hard for the police to plan properly; many supporters behaved in an unruly manner, and the party leaders and key functionaries were not able to control the large crowd, the police sources said. Lack of enough drinking water facilities and medical help exacerbated the situation.
Another serious issue was the failure to keep emergency access open - ambulances had trouble moving through the crowd, and in some cases, drivers were attacked by party members for interrupting the rally.
A senior official said as per standard operating protocol, the district police have powers to speak to the organisers and cut short the event if they sense the possibility of a mishap. There are indications that the police wanted to pursue this line of thought when Vijay reached the venue. Why they decided against it lies in an answer given by Davidson Devasirvatham, additional DGP (Law and Order) in a press briefing on September 30. He said the consequences of stopping the rally would have to be considered before making a call. The atmosphere was charged, and the energised cadre of TVK, a party trying to position itself as an opponent to the ruling DMK, outnumbered the police by a factor of 60.
The number of personnel deputed to the event itself raised questions; the government said considering TVK’s estimate of 10,000 people, the ratio of 1:20 was much better than the 1:50 that is assigned for the highest density crowd. In hindsight, the event warranted more security, but the district police have a strength of only around 1,000, officials pointed out.
The police’s preparations for Karur gain significance as signs of the catastrophe were seen in the previous TVK rallies as well. The NIDM guidelines echo this: Stakeholders should study the history of events to gauge numbers, crowd patterns, type of visitors and the time of crowd arrival.
In Namakkal event as well, the security provided by the police proved to be inadequate, but fortunately no life was lost. The party flouted norms there as well, with Vijay making unscheduled stops to greet supporters. The route was also not clearly shared with the police which made crowd control difficult. Young supporters cocked a snook at the police, yet no decisive action was taken.
Likewise in Tiruchy, the crowd exceeded 1 lakh, four times the 25,000 that the police had expected, with the situation barely managed. A 30-minute event stretched to five hours, causing traffic snarl-ups, and blocking emergency services. TVK supporters flouted 23 conditions set by the police with even residents and shopkeepers complaining about the lack of action by the police.
The actor-politician’s rally in Tiruvarur was also no exception. “As the crowd surged, the gate of a government office near the venue was opened. In the melee, over 15 swooned inside the office complex,” an eyewitness told TNIE. If not for the opening of the office gates, there would have been a stampede, he added.
With inputs from P Thiruselvam Tiruchy, Sneha Sivashanmugam Salem, N Ramesh, Tiruvarur and Mohamed Salahudeen B, Nagapattinam