Overview

• Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said 39 people were killed, including 13 men, 17 women, four boys and five girls, with dozens more injured and under treatment.
• Tamil Nadu’s DGP G. Venkataraman said attendees began arriving by late morning for an event slated for later in the day, Vijay reached around 7:40 pm, and roughly 27,000 gathered despite plans for about 10,000.
• Investigators are reviewing reports of heat and fainting, water bottles being thrown from the campaign vehicle, a missing nine-year-old, and a brief power outage as possible triggers for sudden crowd surges.
• Ambulances struggled to reach the packed site and hospitals reported multiple patients brought in unconscious, including children, as police and officials worked to restore order.
• The government announced Rs 10 lakh for families of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured, formed a one-member commission led by Justice Aruna Jagadishan, deployed senior police to Karur, tightened security at Vijay’s home, and received condolences from national leaders as Vijay expressed deep sorrow.