TVK Chief Vijay Appears Before CBI In Karur Stampede Case
TVK chief and actor Vijay is being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Delhi in connection with the Karur stampede tragedy, in which 41 people lost their lives. The stampede occurred on September 27 last year at a massive political rally addressed by Vijay, marking one of the deadliest crowd disasters in Tamil Nadu’s recent political history.
The probe into the incident has seen multiple legal turns. Initially, the Madras High Court had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the circumstances leading to the tragedy. However, the Supreme Court later transferred the investigation to the CBI, directing that it be monitored by a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. The top court also quashed a one-member commission appointed earlier by the Tamil Nadu government, agreeing with arguments that a more independent and credible probe was required. Notably, Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), had itself sought an independent investigation into the incident.
A source from TVK told NDTV, “Our leader will cooperate with the stampede investigation. We hope this will bring out the truth.”
At the time of the tragedy, the Tamil Nadu Police had blamed Vijay’s alleged inordinate delay in arriving at the venue for triggering the chaos, stating that the prolonged wait led to a surging and uncontrollable crowd. Police officials had also cited a lack of adequate food, drinking water, and toilet facilities, saying the weary crowd eventually turned unruly. Vijay, however, denied the allegations, calling them a “conspiracy” by the ruling DMK, a charge the party has rejected. He countered by blaming the police for poor crowd management and for failing to clear bottlenecks on approach roads to the venue.
