Over 15 Dead and 50 Injured in Actor Vijay’s Political Rally Chaos, Sparking Nationwide Probe into Crowd Management Failures
Published on: September 29, 2025
By: BTNI
Location: New Delhi, India
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district on September 29, 2025, to console families affected by the horrific stampede at actor-turned-politician Vijay’s rally, which claimed 15 lives—including eight women and children—and injured over 50 others.
The tragedy unfolded late Sunday when thousands surged forward for a glimpse of Vijay, launching his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, leading to a bottleneck at a narrow entry gate and subsequent crush. Eyewitnesses described “absolute pandemonium” as panic spread, with reports of inadequate barricades and poor police coordination exacerbating the disaster—one of Tamil Nadu’s deadliest crowd incidents since the 2023 Coimbatore blast. Sitharaman, flanked by CM MK Stalin and Vijay, announced a ₹10 crore central relief package, including ₹5 lakh ex-gratia per deceased family, and ordered a high-level NDRF probe into safety lapses.
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Vijay, visibly shaken, postponed his party’s formal launch and vowed “justice for the voiceless,” while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dialed him and Stalin to offer condolences. The BJP formed an 8-member fact-finding team led by Hema Malini, criticizing the DMK government’s “negligence.”
This incident highlights systemic issues in India’s booming political rallies, with experts urging AI-driven crowd analytics and stricter event norms under the Disaster Management Act. As Karur mourns, it serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of electoral fervor in a democracy of 900 million voters.
