CBI questions TVK chief Vijay for second time in Karur stampede case

TVK chief Vijay was on Monday questioned for six hours by the CBI here in the Karur stampede case, officials said. Vijay was earlier grilled for six hours at the CBI headquarters on January 12.

He was asked to come again on January 13, but the actor sought another date due to Pongal, they said.

The actor turned politician arrived at the agency headquarters on Lodhi Road in a fleet of luxury SUVs at around 10.20 am. He left at about 5 pm, they said. TVK party leader CT Nirmal Kumar, who was present outside the CBI office, told reporters that they are cooperating in the investigation.

“Lots of rumours are being spread around which are not true. We all know what happened in Karur. MPs from Delhi had gone to Karur; even the Tamil Nadu BJP president has said what exactly happened in Karur.”

“We are cooperating with the investigating agencies. Please refrain from spreading any misinformation. He (Vijay) has not been called again,” Kumar added.

Vijay was questioned during the day by a team of officials led by a deputy superintendent rank officer drawn from the agency’s anti-corruption wing, the officials said.

Several questions related to decision-making about the rally, reasons for his delay, continuation of the speech, his knowledge about the ongoing chaos, turnout and mismanagement of the crowd were put forth to him, they said.

The call on attributing the role of individuals in the chargesheet will be taken only after a thorough analysis of the statements of the actor, senior political officials of his party, and police and district administration officials involved in the process of giving clearance and managing the rally, they said.

The federal agency took over the case from an SIT following a Supreme Court order and has been gathering evidence related to the September 27 stampede, which claimed 41 lives and left more than 60 injured in Tamil Nadu’s Karur.

In October last year, the apex court had asked the CBI director to appoint a senior officer to take over the investigation and also constituted a supervisory committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the agency’s investigation.

A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria had said the stampede has left an imprint in the minds of citizens throughout the country.

It has wide ramifications with respect to the lives of citizens, and enforcing the fundamental rights of the families who lost their kin is of utmost importance, the court had said.

“The faith and trust of the general public in the process of investigation must be restored in the criminal justice system, and one way to instil such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased,” the bench said.