Vijay rally stampede: At Velusamypuram, where 40 people died in a stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s rally on Saturday night, the ground still tells a story, strewn with children’s sandals, broken grills, torn party scarves, and sunshades snapped under the weight of those who climbed over them.

Most of those who turned up were not political workers, but people who wanted to catch a glimpse of their superstar. Subhash, a bus-body worker from Karur who stood behind Vijay’s campaign van during Saturday’s event, said exhaustion had set in hours before the actor arrived.

“After Vijay’s vehicle reached the spot, the pressure doubled. The crowd was swelling. When his vehicle rolled in, making space for it in an already crowded street made matters worse,” he said.

By this point, the conditio

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