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Chennai, Oct 15 (IANS) Two senior leaders of actor Vijay’s TVK outfit – Karur West district secretary Mathiyazhagan and municipality in-charge Paunraj – have been granted bail in the tragic stampede that killed 41 people during a party rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on September 27.
The Karur police had arrested the duo on September 30 after they crushed a huge crowd at a public meeting organized by the party as part of its statewide outreach campaign.
The event, which was attended by thousands of enthusiastic supporters, turned deadly when chaos broke out due to a significant delay in the arrival of party leader and actor Vijay.
Later reports revealed that the venue had become overcrowded and lacked adequate arrangements for drinking water, food and crowd management.
Following the tragedy, the Tamil Nadu government faced severe criticism over security and logistical lapses.
Chief Minister MK Stalin, addressing the Assembly on Wednesday, said the event was allowed with 11 specific conditions and more police deployment than usual was provided. However, the uncontrolled surge resulted in the death of 41 people and injuries to many others, mostly women who had gathered since early morning to see Vijay.
Mathiyazhagan and Paunraj were initially sent to 14-day judicial custody and kept in Trichy Central Jail. His custody period ended on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, as soon as the case was officially transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the accused petitioned the court to free the state Special Investigation Team (SIT) from further investigation.
Acting on the petition, the Karur District Judge directed that both the accused be produced before the court.
After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the judge granted him unconditional bail considering that the case now came under the jurisdiction of CBI.
The CBI is expected to investigate whether the event organizers violated safety norms and whether there was any negligence by the authorities in enforcing the conditions.
Vijay, who has announced his entry into full-time politics through TVK and plans to contest the 2026 assembly elections, expressed deep grief over the incident and promised full cooperation in the investigation.
–IANS
aal/vd