Indian actor-politician’s aides charged as 40 die in rally stampede

Police have charged three close aides of a popular actor and politician with culpable homicide and negligence after a stampede at his rally in southern India killed 40 people.

27,000 people thronged a public road in Tamil Nadu state in the hope of seeing the politician, known by the single name of Vijay, on Saturday but panic broke out, triggering a deadly crush.

Such crowd incidents happen frequently during mass gatherings in India and are often blamed on lax safety measures.

Police filed a case against three senior members of Vijay’s party, whom they identified as Bussy Anand, G.R. Nirmal Kumar and V.P. Mathiyazhagan.

“A case has been registered and the investigation will reveal all who are involved,” senior police officer S. Davidson Devasirvatham told reporters on Sunday, September 28, 2025.

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All three have been charged with “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” and negligent conduct endangering human life.

Witnesses cited hours of delays, insufficient police presence, and people falling from a tree branch onto the audience as reasons contributing to the crush.

Vijay was addressing the rally in Karur district when the crowd surged suddenly, forcing him to halt his speech.

Videos on social media showed him tossing water bottles to supporters shortly before the panic broke out.

“I am at a loss for words to express the pain my heart endures,” the 51-year-old star said in a statement on Sunday.

“This is indeed an irreparable loss for us,” he said, adding that he would pay two million rupees ($22,000) to each of the victims’ families as compensation.

Senior district official M. Thangavel told AFP 40 people had been killed in the stampede, raising an earlier toll of 39.

Nine children were among the dead.

The Star