Actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam chief Vijay on Tuesday appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to take action against him and not members of his party in connection with the September 27 stampede that left 41 dead.

“If you [Stalin] have thought of seeking vengeance, you may do anything to me and not touch my party men,” Vijay said in his first video message on social media after the incident that took place during his party’s rally in Karur.

The actor-politician expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in the stampede.

“I have not faced such a painful situation in my life,” he said. “People came to the site out of trust and love for me.”

Vijay also hinted at a political conspiracy, saying: “We campaigned in five districts, so why did this happen in Karur? How did this occur? People know the truth and they are watching everything.”

He added that the truth behind the incident will come out soon.

Vijay further claimed that he did not visit Karur after the stampede as it would have led to an “untoward situation”, adding that he would meet the families of the victims and those injured soon.

Vijay’s video message came a day after the police arrested Mathiyalagan, the Karur district general secretary of Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam, in connection with the stampede.

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader, two Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam functionaries and YouTube content creator Felix Gerald were also arrested on Monday for allegedly spreading rumours about the stampede on social media.

The police said that cases were registered against 25 social media account holders, who allegedly posted rumours about the stampede and spread misinformation about the state government and the police.

Cases were also filed against the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam’s state general secretary ‘Bussy’ Anand and deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar. Vijay himself, however, was not among those booked.

The stampede occurred shortly after 7.30 pm on Saturday at the Veluchamy Puram area of the Karur district, where the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief was speaking from atop his campaign vehicle.

Several of those who attended the rally fainted due to overcrowding. Vijay’s speech was interrupted twice as ambulances were brought in to take those who collapsed.

The first information report alleged that while permission had been granted for 10,000 attendees, more than 25,000 persons gathered at the venue. A day prior to the event, television channels had said that Vijay would arrive at Karur by noon, but he reached the district by 4.45 pm.

On the way, Vijay held several unsanctioned roadshows, the police alleged. They alleged that by the time the actor-politician arrived at the Veluchamy Puram area around 7 pm, “thousands were crammed into a narrow space”.

Mathiyalagan and other party officials failed to properly regulate the outfit’s cadres, alleged the FIR.

Among those who died were 18 women and nine children.

Following the stampede, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam approached the Madras High Court seeking suo motu cognisance of the incident.

The party, in its petition, claimed that there were “some conspiracies” at play that led to the stampede. The petition sought a suo motu investigation or a probe by an independent agency.

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