CBI turns its lens on Vijay: agency set to question TVK chief in Karur stampede probe

Chennai — The Karur stampede investigation has reached the very top of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. The Central Bureau of Investigation is preparing to question party founder and Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay in connection with the September 27 stampede at his campaign rally in Karur, which killed 41 people and injured more than 110, sources told IANS. With preliminary questioning of senior TVK functionaries complete, the focus of the probe has now shifted to Vijay himself, the sources said. CBI officials are reportedly weighing logistical and security considerations before summoning the TVK leader, and are said to be in the process of initiating formal steps to question him. The investigators want to establish Vijay's role and responsibilities in connection with the event — in particular, how crowds were managed, what security arrangements were in place, and whether permissions and safety norms were complied with. Among those already examined are TVK State General Secretary Bussy Anand, Joint Secretaries Nirmal Kumar and Aadhav Arjuna, and Karur West District Secretary Mathiyazhagan, all of whom are reported to have submitted their explanations and details regarding the organisation and conduct of the event. The rally at Veluswamypuram in Karur drew an estimated 27,000 people against a permitted crowd of about 10,000, according to the police. Narrow roads, hours of waiting in the heat without water, hoardings and barricades blocking escape routes, and interruptions in power supply turned the venue into a death trap. An FIR was filed against TVK functionaries — Vijay excepted — on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, failing to maintain safety, and misrepresenting the expected turnout and venue arrangements. The Supreme Court on October 13 transferred the investigation to the CBI and constituted a monitoring committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi. TVK itself had sought the transfer, arguing that a fair and impartial probe could not be conducted solely by the Tamil Nadu police, and objecting to the Madras High Court's Special Investigation Team comprising only state police officers. The High Court, for its part, had criticised the organisers, the TVK leadership and the police over the stampede. Vijay has suspended all his political rallies until October 20, putting his campaign for the October 6 byelections on hold, and announced relief of Rs 20 lakh for the families of each of the dead. Forty-one families in Karur are still waiting for answers. The CBI's reported decision to question Vijay himself means the answers, this time, must come from the man on whose stage the tragedy unfolded.