The Indian superstar at the centre of row over crush deaths

BBC:

An Indian superstar-turned-politician is at the centre of a massive row after 40 people died in a crush at his party’s rally on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people turned up at the campaign event held by Vijay in Karur district in Tamil Nadu state. The actor was in the middle of his speech when the crowd surged suddenly.

The tragedy has sparked a blame game, with the opposition accusing government officials of not deploying enough police personnel to control crowds.

Police officials have said that the rally’s organisers, who are from Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, underestimated the anticipated crowd size and did not take enough precautions.