KARUR: The bodies of the 40 who perished in the stampede were either cremated or buried on Sunday after post-mortem examination at the Karur Government Medical College Hospital.
While the death toll in the stampede stood at 39 till Sunday morning, it increased to 40 after a 17-year-old Kavin died without responding to treatment at the government medical college hospital a few hours into the day. Among the 40 dead, 17 were women and 10 were children.
The bodies of the victims were handed over to their families after identification by their relatives. The youngest victim was two-year-old V Guru Vishnu of Velusamypuram in Karur while the oldest was a 60-year-old man.
Among the deceased women, most were in their 30s while the men who died were in their 20s and 30s. The bodies were transported to their respective native place in free hearse vehicles.
Ambulance driver Saravanan from Karur, who was part of the rescue efforts, said, “As soon as Vijay ended his campaign and was leaving, fans and the public started running towards him. Some even climbed onto EB poles and those supporting focus lights. It was complete mayhem. Several people, including children, were caught in the stampede. We ambulance drivers rushed as many injured as possible to the Karur medical college hospital. Sadly, some died on the way.”
Adding to the chaos, some TVK members picked up quarrels with the drivers of those ambulances that tried to find their way through the crowd to rescue the injured. Some even snatched the keys of the ambulances, delaying critical medical help, sources said.
Three TVK leaders booked on charges of culpable homicide
Karur: The Karur Town police has registered a a case against TVK general secretary Bussy N Anand, deputy general secretary GR Nirmal Kumar, and Karur West district secretary Mathiyalagan. All of them have been booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125b (endangering human life) and 223 (disobedience) of BNS.
As per the FIR, Vijay conducted a road show without obtaining permission and caused significant disruption to public movement. The absence of proper crowd control measures by TVK, failure to follow police instructions, and inadequate arrangements for water and medical assistance worsened the situation, the FIR stated.
As per the FIR, the crowd began climbing steel sheds and trees to get a better view of Vijay. When these structures gave way, people fell into the dense crowd below, resulting in a fatal stampede. Many victims reportedly died due to suffocation and crush injuries.