Actor-politician Vijay on Monday met the families of the Karur stampede victims in Mahabalipuram near here and sought their forgiveness for the tragic incident that left 41 dead and over 60 injured.
The meeting was held a month after the stampede.
A total of 37 families were brought in from Karur to the meeting venue-- a resort where the party had booked about 50 rooms, a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) source said.
It was a closed-door meeting. The leader met them individually, and lunch was also arranged.
Vijay assured the families of monetary support, besides for education, self-employment, and housing, the source added.
During his meeting with the families, Vijay apologised to them for bringing them to Mahabalipuram and said he could not visit Karur as he could not get permission from the authorities. He would certainly visit them in Karur soon, he assured.
The TVK chief, who turned emotional, sought their forgiveness for the tragic incident. Though he could never compensate for the loss of their dear ones, he would take care of the affected families as if they were his own, he said during the personal meeting that lasted for over three hours, the party source said.
Earlier, the family members of the victims were brought in five buses and were expected to be taken back to Karur, about 400 km from here, later in the day, the source added.
Vijay's TVK had arranged the meeting at the resort to enable him to personally meet the bereaved families and convey his condolences.
As many as 41 people lost their lives and over 60 injured in the stampede that occurred at the TVK meeting addressed by Vijay on September 27.
The TVK leadership had earlier in the day instructed its cadres not to visit the resort where Vijay had offered his condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families.
The party said Vijay was likely to resume his political outreach programme that was suspended due to the stampede.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
