Karur stampede: NDA team terms tragedy unnatural, seeks sitting SC judge probe to 'unravel' truths

TIRUCHY: The NDA’s 8-member committee, which conducted a fact-finding mission into the Karur stampede tragedy, urged a Supreme Court-monitored probe, claiming that the incident appeared ‘unnatural,’ after meeting with affected families and those injured who were receiving treatment on Tuesday.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya levelled charges that some of the victims were taken to faraway hospitals. In a place that can accommodate about 2,000 to 3,000 people, how can 30,000 people stand? Who permitted the conduct of the meeting in that particular spot? Who takes responsibility for the death of 41 people, including women and children, he asked, stating that the State government must answer such questions quickly. “By the end of this month, we will submit our report to the national leadership. A sitting Supreme Court judge should conduct an independent and transparent inquiry to bring out the truth,” he said. We lack confidence in the one-man committee set up by the State government, as such panels are often formed to favour the ruling government. All the people we met said that they don’t have trust in such a probe committee, the saffron party leader said.

This eight-member NDA MPs’ team, comprising Hema Malini, Anurag Thakur, Tejasvi Surya, Prajwal, Srikant Shinde, Aparajita Sarangi, Rekha Sharma and Putta Maheshkumar, arrived in Coimbatore by flight from Delhi and then travelled to Karur on the road. The team split into four groups and went to different parts of the Karur district to conduct inquiries.

Parliamentarian Hema Malini, who headed the NDA delegation, termed this the biggest stampede to have ever occurred in the nation’s political history at a political rally. She underscored how political rallies are usually appropriately organised, ensuring security. “We suspect the incident had happened ‘unnaturally’,” said Hema Malini.

The inquiry revealed that a power shutdown was one of the causes, she said. “A few people threw footwear on the campaign vehicle, which is unheard of at such rallies,” she said.

Hema Malini added that the people who were crazy to see a cinema star should have been given proper security. The place was packed with more than 30,000 people in a narrow space, and the organisers should have preferred a better location, she added. “It seems the organisers asked for better places, but were denied by the district administration. Vijay should have responsibly invited a limited number of people (given the choice of place),” she said.

As per the interaction held with the families of the deceased and eyewitnesses, we can conclude that the incident did not occur naturally, and the district administration should have provided detailed information to the committee, "Hema Malini said, criticising government officials for refusing to interact with the NDA’s team of MPs.

The BJP's former minister, Anurag Thakur, said that the delegation has more questions than answers from the state government, especially the district administration. “The State government doesn't want to throw light on what went wrong, and this is something unusual to see the district administration refusing to meet the delegation comprised of MPs,” he said.

Anurag Thakur added that the delegation wants to understand who permitted the rally to be conducted at the particular spot and about the security arrangements. “Upon interacting with the people, we came to know that there were a few plainclothes men with ropes in control of the crowd. Who were they?” he asked.

He added that a few queries have been sent to the State government and the district administration, and he sought a reply within seven days to facilitate the preparation of a report that should be submitted to the BJP national leadership.