Tamil Nadu Minister Says Vijay Won’t Be Arrested Without Evidence in Karur Stampede Case

Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu Minister Durai Murugan clarified on Saturday that the state government will not arrest actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay in connection with the Karur stampede tragedy unless there is solid evidence linking him directly to the incident.

Murugan stressed that political parties must take responsibility for managing the scale of their public meetings:

“Each party knows how many people will attend its gatherings. Venues must be chosen carefully to handle expected crowds. If there is evidence, the government will do its duty,” he said.

The stampede on September 27 in Karur claimed 41 lives during a TVK campaign rally. Following the incident, cases were filed against TVK general secretary N Anand, joint general secretary Nirmal Kumar, and several organisers.

The Madras High Court has questioned the conduct of Vijay and his party, noting that he was absent from the site after the tragedy. The Madurai Bench even observed that Vijay “fled from the scene of occurrence” and criticised the party’s lack of visible remorse.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Chennai North Zone IG Asra Garg is now handling the probe, with investigation files transferred from Karur to Chennai for further scrutiny.

During court hearings, Justice Senthilkumar expressed concern over lapses by both the organisers and police in managing the event. The bench also pointed out that TVK made misleading announcements about event timings on social media, which may have contributed to the chaos.

In addition, the court has directed action against TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna and is also considering a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to reform permission protocols for future political rallies, aiming to prevent similar tragedies.