New Delhi [India], January 19 : Inquiries are underway at the Karur CBI office with nine police personnel who were on security duty during the Karur stampede even as Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief Vijay appears for the second phase of questioning at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office in Delhi.
The police personnel appearing for inquiry are being questioned by CBI officials about the time and place of their deployment during Vijay's campaign event on September 27, the sequence of events during the stampede, and other details related to the security arrangements in place at the time.
On September 27 last year, during the public outreach programme of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader Vijay in Karur, a crowd stampede occurred, resulting in the deaths of 41 people. The case is being investigated by the CBI as per the Supreme Court's directions.
For the past three months, CBI officials have been conducting the investigation in multiple phases at the temporary CBI office functioning at the Public Works Department-owned Tourist Bungalow located near the Karur District Collectorate.
So far, the CBI has questioned several individuals, including the relatives of those who lost their lives in the stampede, the injured persons, ambulance drivers and owners, doctors who conducted the post-mortems, residents of the Veluchamipuram area, members of the public, traders, and office-bearers of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
In this context, the actor-turned politician Vijay had already appeared in person and given explanations to the CBI at its Delhi office earlier.
The CBI's line of questioning last week focused heavily on the mechanics of the disaster and the timeline of events on the unfortunate day.
The CBI took over the investigation from the Tamil Nadu Police in October last year following a Supreme Court order. Since then, the agency has been examining the circumstances surrounding the stampede at a political event in Karur.
One of the key issues under scrutiny was the "7-hour" discrepancy: Investigators are probing a massive delay between the scheduled start of the event and Vijay's actual arrival. They are examining whether this wait caused the crowd to swell from an expected 10,000 to over 30,000 people, leading to a total loss of control.
The agency also questioned whether party workers on the ground coordinated adequately with the local police and district administration, as the crowd reportedly grew from an estimated 10,000 people to around 30,000. Delays in Vijay's movement and his party workers' movement are being examined to assess their impact on crowd dynamics.
The agency is further probing the timing of Vijay's awareness of the stampede and the sequence of events that followed. Questions about the exact times of his arrival and departure from the venue are also part of the ongoing inquiry.