THE toll in the stampede here rose to 40 after a man succumbed to injuries at the Government hospital, a health official said on Sunday. As the toll mounted, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhaga party led by actor-politician Vijay moved the Madras High Court Bench in Madurai seeking an independent probe into the Karur stampede. Stopping short of alleging a conspiracy into the incident, TVK Deputy General Secretary Nirmal Kumar told reporters that the party had approached the high court bench with a plea for an impartial inquiry into the incident. “The judge agreed to hear the case tomorrow at 2.15 pm. We will make official our statement thereafter,” he said.

 

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary P Senthil Kumar said 39 persons died and 67 persons were undergoing treatment as in-patients. “In this unfortunate incident, 39 deaths have been reported--17 women, 13 men, 4 male children, and 5 female children. The postmortem has been done for 30 (out of 39 deceased) and the bodies have been handed over to their families,” Senthil Kumar told reporters after visiting the patients at the GH. On the admissions, he said 26 people were treated in the OPD and were discharged. And of the 67 admitted as in-patients, 2 were critical. All others were stable. One of the patients was shifted to the Madurai GH for further treatment.

 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF to be given to the kin of each deceased in the unfortunate incident. The injured would be given Rs 50,000, he said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’. TVK chief Vijay announces Rs 20 lakh compensation: TVK President Vijay on Sunday announced a financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh to the families of those who lost their lives at a stampede during his party’s rally in Karur on September 27. He also said Rs 2 lakh would be given to those who sustained injuries. The actor-politician said he was deeply anguished over the incident, which claimed more than 30 lives and left many others injured. Expressing his condolences to the bereaved families in a social media post on Sunday, he said, “It is not a huge amount for the loss you have suffered. I know your loss cannot be replaced. It is an irreparable loss. However, it is my duty to stand next to you in this hour and share your grief.” He added that he would pray for the speedy recovery of those injured and assured that his party men would provide all possible support those undergoing treatment in hospitals. Vijay said the incident in Karur defied imagination and that he could not describe the pain he was enduring. “My eyes and mind are clouded with sorrow. The faces of the people I met at the rally have been flashing in my mind ever since,” he said. Reiterating his commitment to help the affected families, he said, “By the Grace of God, let us strive to recover from this.”

 

 

  ACTOR-politician Vijay led TVK on Sunday made a mention before Justice M Dhandapani of the Madras High Court to order CBI or Special Investigation Team probe into the tragic death of 40 people during a stampede at a rally held by the party on September 27 in Karur. A group of advocates led by TVK’s advocates’ wing president S Arivazhagan went to the residence of Justice M Dhandapani on Greenways road here and made a mention. According to TVK party functionary Nirmal Kumar, the judge asked the advocates to file a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and it will be taken up for hearing on Monday at 2.15 pm.