Karur: 41 dead at a political rally, probe contested to the top

What happened

On 27 September 2025, a campaign rally of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-politician Vijay, drew an enormous crowd at Velusamypuram in Karur, Tamil Nadu. The leader’s arrival was delayed by hours while the crowd — far exceeding what the venue and arrangements could hold — stood packed in the heat. In the crush that followed, 41 people died and more than 60 were injured.

What the official record shows

Accountability is contested: the state government points to the organisers’ crowd estimates and conduct, while TVK alleged deficiencies in the police arrangements and sought an independent probe, expressing distrust of the state’s investigation. The Tamil Nadu government constituted a one-member inquiry commission under retired Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, and the Madras High Court initially set up a special investigation team. The Supreme Court set that SIT aside and ordered a CBI investigation, monitored by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi — an unusual arrangement reflecting the court’s concern for an impartial probe. The CBI has examined the site and summoned organisers, including Vijay.

Where it stands

The CBI investigation and the inquiry commission are ongoing; no findings have been delivered. Whichever way responsibility ultimately falls — on organisers, on state permissions and policing, or both — 41 deaths at a permitted political event enter the record as another failure of crowd safety, the third mass-casualty crush in India in 2025.