Karur stampede: Madras High Court dismisses anticipatory bail filed by TVK district secretary N Sathish Kumar

NEW DELHI: Madras High Court Justice N Senthilvkumar on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail filed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam district secretary N Sathish Kumar seeking bail in the Karur stampede case.

The judge raised questions on why the party failed to control the mob, highlighting the cadre’s unruly behaviour, including the rampage and damage caused to the public properties during the party chief Vijay’s roadshow.

Additionally, Government Advocate S Santhosh also submitted nine First Information Reports (FIR) registered against the party members, including the district secretary, in connection with the destruction of public properties, opposing the granting of the anticipatory bail.

The stampede occurred on September 27 during a public rally led by Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay, resulting in the death of 41 people and leaving several others injured. The event drew a massive crowd, and preliminary observations suggested that lapses in crowd management contributed to the chaos.

Meanwhile, CM Stalin criticised the BJP party and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for rushing to Karur after the stampede, stating that the Centre had ignored Tamil Nadu during previous disasters.

He said, “When Tamil Nadu was struck by three major disasters, affecting thousands of people, the Union BJP Finance Minister neither visited nor provided any funds. But now, she immediately rushes to Karur. The BJP, which did not send inquiry commissions for the Manipur riots, Gujarat incidents, or the Kumbh Mela deaths, is now promptly sending a team to Karur, not out of any genuine concern for Tamil Nadu, but simply because elections are due next year.”

He further added, “They (BJP) think they can gain some political mileage out of this (Karur stampede deaths) or use it to threaten someone. The BJP is in a position where it survives by sucking someone else’s blood.”
Stalin also targeted the AIADMK, accusing it of supporting a party that neglects state interests.

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur urged the Tamil Nadu Chief Ministwr MK Stalin to take full charge of the situation and direct the concerned authorities to furnish a comprehensive report at the earliest.Thakur was a member of the NDA-BJP fact-finding delegation that visited Karur.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Thakur called for a detailed inquiry into the incident, urging that the report include an analysis of the primary causes of the tragedy, crowd control arrangements made by local authorities, lapses identified so far, and measures being planned by the state to prevent such incidents in the future. (ANI)