File image: ANI
The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday appointed retired High Court judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan to head the commission investigating the deadly stampede at actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur. At least 40 people, including nine children, lost their lives, while over 50 others were injured during the rally on Saturday night.
The stampede occurred at a rally that was originally scheduled to begin at 3 pm, but Vijay reportedly arrived only at 7:30 pm, according to reports quoting police sources.
The organisers had sought permission for a crowd of around 10,000, but nearly 27,000 people turned up, far exceeding the planned capacity, said Tamil Nadu DGP in-charge G. Venkatraman.
The venue was also reportedly ill-equipped to handle the large gathering, with insufficient food and water supplies for attendees who had been waiting for hours under the hot sun.
In response to the tragedy, the state government announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the families of those who died. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin deputed ministers, including Ma Subramanian, to oversee medical treatment and relief measures for the injured.
In addition, TVK chief Vijay announced financial assistance of ₹20 lakh for families of the deceased and ₹2 lakh for those injured in the stampede.
Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, who retired as a puisne judge of the Madras High Court in March 2015 after serving since 2009, has previously led several high-profile inquiries and judicial proceedings.
She headed the commission probing the 2018 anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi, where police firing left 13 people dead and over 100 injured. Her report recommended action against 17 police officials, including IPS officers. The protests, which lasted nearly 100 days, were triggered by environmental and health concerns over the Sterlite Copper plant.
In February 2015, Justice Jagadeesan was part of a High Court bench that gave a clean chit to Chennai Police in the alleged fake encounter at Velachery, where five men suspected of bank robbery were killed. The bench dismissed pleas for a CBI probe, ruling that police action was justified, according to NDTV.
She also conducted inquiries into wealth-related cases involving former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her associates.
Earlier, she presided over the appeal in the 2002 custodial death of Karuppi, a Dalit woman, where she overturned the lower court conviction and acquitted eight policemen due to lack of evidence, as reported by Oneindia.
With inputs from agencies.
Also Read: Who Is Thalapathy Vijay’s Wife? From A Fan To Lifelong Partners, Her Net Worth Is Rs 400 Crore
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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