The stampede that claimed 40 lives in Karur, Tamil Nadu, clearly exposes the deadly consequences of poor crowd control and inadequate police intelligence. It is a flagrant repeat of previous stampedes during Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, RCB’s IPL-win celebrations in Bengaluru, and several religious and political events across the country, where people perished like locusts falling on rocks. Predictably, accusations, conspiracy theories, and political posturing have followed.

FIRs and court battles are routine, but they rarely reach a logical conclusion. Women and children who perished in Karur on Saturday only wanted to get a close look at their beloved screen hero Vijay, who recently waded into politics with his newly-formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Enjoying Kollywood’s largest fan base, the actor-politician has been on a statewide tour to expound on his manifesto.

Since TVK’s birth, he has clarified his political stance by opposing DMK in the state and BJP at the Centre. The massive turnout at his rallies has obviously unnerved his opponents, who preferred to dismiss the crowd as movie fans.

Amid chaos in Karur after the incident, Vijay and TVK’s functionaries disappeared from the scene. This does not exemplify strong leadership in a time of crisis. There is yet no clarity on what led to the disaster. While some blame it on the denial of permission to hold the rally on a larger ground, others point out the mismanagement of the crowds, which gathered from multiple points and converged on an already overcrowded site.

Vijay’s delayed arrival seems to have caused several people in the crowd to suffer from dehydration and faint. A minor lathi-charge might also have contributed to the chaos. The state government has set up an inquiry commission, headed by former High Court Judge, Justice Aruna Jagadeesan. Meanwhile, TVK has approached the Madras High Court with a plea to order an independent probe into the tragedy. While Vijay, like other political leaders, has the right to undertake political campaigning, his party should have taken all precautions to limit the number of people gathered as per the approval.

The police also cannot shrug off their responsibility of managing the crowd. Questions were raised about the limited number of cops assigned to handle the crowd. There is a clear need for a strict national protocol to prevent such tragedies.