Actor-politician Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has alleged a DMK conspiracy behind the Karur rally stampede that killed 40 people and injured nearly 100, NDTV reported.
TVK’s lawyer and state legal wing coordinator, Arivazhagan, told NDTV that the party has filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking either a Special Investigation Team or a transfer of the case to the CBI. He dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s charge that safety guidelines were violated at the rally.
“There was a conspiracy, a criminal conspiracy in the incident at Karur, so we requested the honorable high court to investigate the matter independently, not by state agency,” Arivazhagan told NDTV. “The court has to constitute a special investigation team, or they have to transfer the case from Tamil Nadu police to CBI.”
When asked if TVK did not trust the state police probe, Arivazhagan said the party had “reliable information” and CCTV footage pointing to “a criminal conspiracy by some ruling party functionaries in the Karur district,” as per the report.
Rejecting the government’s claim that the rally violated safety guidelines, Arivazhagan said, “We did not violate any conditions imposed by the police, we did not. We conducted several events in Madurai, Trichy, Ariyalur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Namakkal. How this happened in Karur that is the question. It creates doubt.”
The report further Sources in the Tamil Nadu government told NDTV that the venue had a capacity of around 10,000, but more than 27,000 turned up. They said people gathered from noon while Vijay arrived only at 7 pm, alleging the delay was deliberate to swell crowds.
Arivazhagan, however, rejected this charge, saying, “The delay was not on our party. The delay was caused by poor traffic. That is the reason we could not reach the destination on time.”
The state government has ordered a judicial inquiry headed by a retired High Court judge. TVK general secretary N Anand, joint general secretary Nirmal Kumar and Karur West district secretary VP Mathiyazhagan now face police charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with other sections.
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