Karur stampede: Madras High Court Bench dismisses anticipatory bail pleas of TVK leaders ‘Bussy’ Anand, Nirmal Kumar

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday (October 3, 2025) dismissed the anticipatory bail petitions filed by TVK general secretary N. Anand, alias ‘Bussy’ Anand, and joint general secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar. They had apprehended arrest by the Karur police in connection with the stampede during a rally at Velusamypuram, in which 41 people died.

Justice M. Jothiraman dismissed the pleas, taking into consideration the gravity of the incident, and that the probe was at a preliminary stage, and the injured were still in hospital.

The facts narrated in the FIR, and by the petitioners, “disturbed the conscience of the court”, the judge said. The role of the event’s organisers and the police is crucial. The present case arises out of the stampede in which 41 lives were lost and many were injured, the court said.

The case of the prosecution is that Karur West district secretary V.P. Mathiyazhagan sought permission for conducting the TVK rally in Karur between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. with an anticipated crowd of 10,000 people. However, around 25,000 people had gathered for the event.

TVK leader Vijay arrived late for a roadshow, due to which the crowd swelled. The tragedy occurred due to the heavy crowd, the prosecution said.

The petitioners contended that the allegations were false, baseless and intended to implicate them for political reasons. Claiming that they had no role in the incident, the petitioners alleged that the police had failed to provide adequate protection despite having prior knowledge of the crowd. The petitioners said they and other TVK members took steps to regulate the crowd.

Senior counsel for the petitioners submitted that permission was granted for conducting the event from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. The party leader could commence the campaign at any time within the permitted slot. It was the responsibility of the State to deploy adequate police personnel for protection. Adequate police personnel were not deployed, and the lathi-charge by the police had caused the commotion. The petitioners were not responsible for the incident, senior counsel said.

The State submitted that the organisers had failed to regulate their party cadre. “It was the duty of the police only to grant protection, and adequate police were deployed. However, the organisers failed to provide drinking water and sanitation facilities to the people. Many people died due to dehydration, and the organisers fled the scene following the incident,” it said, and opposed the anticipatory bail petitions.