Karur stampede case: Actor Vijay summoned by CBI, to be questioned in Delhi on January 12

Actor Vijay

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay in relation to the ongoing probe in the Karur stampede case. Vijay has been called by the CBI for questioning on January 12.

He has been asked to appear before the CBI at the headquarters of the probe agency in Delhi.

The stampede in Karur took place on September 27, in which at least 41 people died and another 110 were injured. The stampede happened during a public meeting of the TVK party, also attended by Vijay.

The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI investigation to determine the cause of the incident and to identigfy those responsible behind the incident.

Further, the apex court has also ordered a three-member committee, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi to supervise the investigation by CBI and ensure that the investigation is being acrried in an independent and impartial manner. The SC ruling had come on TVK’s plea seeking an impartial probe into the matter.

The top court, in its order, also sought an explanation from the Madras High Court after observing several procedural and jurisdictional irregularities in how two writ petitions that were filed with regard to the incident were handled.

The Court noted that these petitions, which initially only sought directions on granting permissions for political rallies and forming guidelines or SOPs, were expanded by a Single Judge of the Madras High Court's Principal Bench at Chennai to include issues such as the creation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Karur stampede.

The Court flagged that this expansion happened without any pleadings from the necessary parties, even though similar matters were already being heard by the Division Bench of the High Court in Madurai, within whose jurisdiction the Karur incident occurred.