

CHENNAI: Blaming the district authorities of Karur, including the collector and the SP, for the September 27 stampede which claimed 41 lives, the TVK on Monday approached the Madras High Court to issue directions to the home secretary to take disciplinary action against these officials.
The petition was filed by G Kartheeban, an advocate belonging to the party. He said the stampede occurred due to heavy crowd congestion and mismanagement of law and order.
The officials — the collector, the SP, the jurisdictional DSP and the town inspector — who are legally bound to ensure proper crowd management, public safety and preventive measures failed in discharging their duty, Kartheeban claimed. Had these officials exercised due diligence and proper planning, the tragedy could have been averted, he said.