It is 5.30am. The sound of women wailing in front of the mortuary at the government medical college hospital at Gandhigram in Karur is heart-wrenching. Three elderly women are seen hugging each other and singing Oppari (the death music in Tamil). A huge crowd is seen waiting in front of the mortuary at the hospital as ambulances drive in and out.

At least 40 people, including 10 children and 16 women, have died in the stampede at Velusamypuram at Karur, during actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay's people outreach campaign on Saturday. The death toll, according to sources, is likely to increase as 58 more people are still getting treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Karur Medical College Hospital.

Crying nonstop, 25-year-old Santhosh is inconsolable. Standing

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