The Crossbill News Desk
The Madras High Court on Friday, October 3, ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the recent stampede at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor-turned-politician Vijay’s political rally in Karur, where 41 people lost their lives.
The court came down heavily on the conduct of TVK leaders, stating that it “highly condemns” the party functionaries for having “abandoned” the people who had gathered at the venue, The Hindu reported.
It added that the party’s lack of remorse revealed its “mental state” and also pulled up the state government for its handling of the incident.
“The court, however, cannot close its eyes. The court cannot be a mute spectator. The court cannot shirk its responsibilities. The entire world has witnessed the sequences as well as consequences of the event,” the bench observed.
Expressing strong dissatisfaction with the police investigation, the court noted that the Tamil Nadu government appeared to be “showing leniency” towards TVK despite its leaders having “fled from the scene of occurrence” after the deaths of scores of women and children.
The tragedy has also triggered public criticism of Vijay, who left Karur soon after the incident and returned to Chennai without addressing the press at Tiruchirapally airport. His silence drew sharp reactions until September 30, when he released a video statement urging Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to “not touch” TVK workers.
Vijay neither apologised for the incident nor assumed responsibility, insisting instead that his party had done no wrong.
Police in Karur had registered a suo-moto FIR and arrested two lower-level TVK functionaries, but the court noted that Vijay himself had not been named.
Justice Senthilkumar directed the Karur Town Inspector of Police to hand over to the SIT all papers related to the FIR against TVK general secretary Bussy Anand alias N. Anand and deputy general secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, who have been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The SIT will be headed by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg.
The court came down heavily on the conduct of TVK leaders, stating that it “highly condemns” the party functionaries for having “abandoned” the people who had gathered at the venue, The Hindu reported.
It added that the party’s lack of remorse revealed its “mental state” and also pulled up the state government for its handling of the incident.
“The court, however, cannot close its eyes. The court cannot be a mute spectator. The court cannot shirk its responsibilities. The entire world has witnessed the sequences as well as consequences of the event,” the bench observed.
Expressing strong dissatisfaction with the police investigation, the court noted that the Tamil Nadu government appeared to be “showing leniency” towards TVK despite its leaders having “fled from the scene of occurrence” after the deaths of scores of women and children.
The tragedy has also triggered public criticism of Vijay, who left Karur soon after the incident and returned to Chennai without addressing the press at Tiruchirapally airport. His silence drew sharp reactions until September 30, when he released a video statement urging Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to “not touch” TVK workers.
Vijay neither apologised for the incident nor assumed responsibility, insisting instead that his party had done no wrong.
Police in Karur had registered a suo-moto FIR and arrested two lower-level TVK functionaries, but the court noted that Vijay himself had not been named.
Justice Senthilkumar directed the Karur Town Inspector of Police to hand over to the SIT all papers related to the FIR against TVK general secretary Bussy Anand alias N. Anand and deputy general secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, who have been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The SIT will be headed by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg.
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