Nearly 500 police personnel were deployed for Vijay''s rally in Karur: ADGP
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Karur (PTI): Tamil Nadu ADGP (Law and Order) S Davidson Devasirvatham on Sunday said nearly 500 police personnel were deployed for Actor-Politician Vijay's Karur rally where a stampede claimed lives of 40 people.
Referring to the findings of the preliminary investigation, he denied the claims of a section that there was a stone pelting during the rally.
Briefing reporters accompanied by District Collector M Thangavel, the top police officer, said, "In the first petition presented by the TVK on September 23, they asked for the Lighthouse-Roundabout junction for their leader to deliver the address. But, it was rejected as it is a high risk place and if there is a dense crowd, it will be difficult to conduct a meeting," he said.
Again, TVK had petitioned asking for permission in the Roundabout or Uzhavar Sandhai and it was rejected as it is a 'narrow area' and cannot accommodate dense crowd, he said.
Police department suggested a place where another public meeting was conducted by the Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on September 26, in which 12,000 to 13,000 people gathered, he said.
"On September 26 they (TVK) presented another petition and received the approval to hold the meeting where it was held yesterday (September 27)" he said.
"As per preliminary investigation, large number of people were arriving at the venue at 12 noon without having breakfast and they did not have lunch as well. No food or water was supplied to them by the organisers," he said.
"As their (TVK) leader started the campaign behind the scheduled in the morning, he left Namakkal by 4.15 pm and reached the venue at 6pm (in Karur). It was supposed to be a 30 minute journey. But it took almost 2 hours for him. Since, all the people were standing without food and water since morning, they became restless and anxious," he said.
Some of them were travelling behind Vijay's vehicle and due to this, there was a further delay of an hour for them to reach the designated spot, he said.
"It is at that time incident has occurred. We will investigate what led to the incident," he said.
The police official also clarified that depending upon the crowd, police personnel are deployed for such public meetings. "If there is a loose crowd, one police officer will be deployed for every 10 feet and if there is a standing crowd, one policeman will be there for security for every 5-7 feet. Suppose, if there is a dense crowd, one police man will be there on duty for every 4.5 to 5 feet," he said.
Similarly, he said, one police man would be deployed for 250-300 people if it falls under low-risk category, and if its moderate category, one police man will be there for security of 100-150 people and if it is high risk category 1 police man is deployed for every 50 people.
"For the meeting on September 27 by TVK, nearly 500 police personnel were on duty which include Superintendent of Police, 3 Additional SPs, 4 DSPs, 7 inspectors, 58 sub-inspectors", he said.
Responding to a query, he said the organisers also should extend their cooperation to the police personnel when there was huge crowd like the one witnessed in Karur on September 27.
"As the Vijay's vehicle was 50 metres away from the speaking spot in Karur, he was instructed by a DSP ranked police officer to stop the vehicle and address the gathering from that place itself. But they did not extend their cooperation and insisted that they go the designated spot," he said.
"For the AIADMK public meeting on September 26, 137 police personnel were deployed. It was orderly crowd, well regulated and after the meeting the crowd dispersed in a smooth manner," he said to a query.
Giving some statistics of police deployment for the TVK meetings held in other places, Devasirvatham said 650 police personnel were deployed in Tiruchirappalli as it is a city with an airport. For the Ariyalur campaign, 287 police personnel were deployed, in Perambalur 480 police were posted, In Nagapattinam there was a deployment of 410 and in Tiruvarur 413 police personnel were on duty.
For Namakkal meeting on September 27, there were 279 police personnel, he said.
He also referred to an incident in Namakkal during the TVK campaign in which 34 people suffered 'heatstroke'.
"They were standing for long hours and still 4 people are under observation in the Government Hospital," he said.
District Collector M Thangavel, who was accompanying the ADGP said, the services of government doctors and nurses from Dindigul, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Namakkal, Coimbatore, Madurai were roped in to treat those injured in the incident.
In order to serve those who seek assistance, control rooms were set up at the government hospitals immediately after the stampede, he added.
Meanwhile, power corporation TANGEDCO's Chief Engineer C Rajalakshmi who was present during the press conference, said power supply was not suspended during the TVK's Karur rally on September 27 as reported by a section of media.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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