REUTERS, Chennai

Police in India registered a criminal case against leaders of Tamil actor Vijay’s political party after a stampede at his rally killed 39 people, a senior police official said yesterday.

The dead included children and more than 50 people were injured in Saturday’s stampede in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where Vijay was campaigning for his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party ahead of state elections early next year.

Tamil Nadu police filed the case, the first step toward potential charges, “against TVK party senior leaders Bussy Anand, Nirmal Kumar and V.P. Mathiyalagan, and the investigation is under way,” senior police official V. Selvaraj told Reuters. “TVK originally sought permission for a gathering of 10,000 people, but the actual crowd was more than double,” he said.

Vijay, one of Tamil cinema’s most bankable actors for three decades, has drawn massive crowds since launching his party last year.