Chennai: Even two days after city police prevented a stampede during a promotional event at a shopping mall in Velachery, no criminal case has been registered against those responsible for the viral social media posts that drew a crowd of more than 10,000 people. Police have, however, launched a cyber investigation to identify those behind the posts.The Aug 8 incident triggered severe traffic congestion in Velachery and surrounding areas for more than three hours after thousands of people gathered at the mall expecting to attend a movie promotional event featuring Hiphop Tamizha.According to police, the crowd swelled after multiple Instagram posts tagged the mall, Hiphop Tamizha, and a leading FM radio station. As the posts went viral, thousands of fans converged on the venue, overwhelming traffic and crowd management arrangements.The investigation has been handed over to the cybercrime wing, which is analysing the viral posts, Instagram accounts, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other digital evidence to identify those responsible for the messages.A senior police officer said the mall management was instructed to create an additional emergency exit to facilitate evacuation. Acting on this instruction, the mall authorities on Saturday opened an exclusive access route through the adjoining premium residential complex to help ease congestion and assist in crowd movement.
