Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) [India], October 13 : Uma Anandan, the petitioner who had filed a plea in the Madras High Court seeking a CBI investigation into the Karur stampede, has come forward to clarify that she did not file any petition in the Supreme Court. Anandan stated that she had filed a case in the Chennai High Court.
Anandan claimed that despite not authorising any advocate to file a case on his behalf in the Supreme Court, news emerged last week stating that she had filed a petition in the apex court.
"On 3rd October, I left Chennai for this Char Dham tour. I filed a case in the Chennai High Court. I don't know why, but there was news all over last week that I had filed a case in the Supreme Court. I had not authorised any advocate on my behalf to file the case in the Supreme Court... I had filed a case (in Chennai High Court) requesting a CBI enquiry because I had serious doubts about whether the probe would be fair," she said, while speaking to ANI.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede, which took place during TVK chief and actor Vijay's rally on September 27, leaving 41 persons dead and many others injured.
A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and N.V. Anjaria also ordered a three-member committee to be headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Justice Ajay Rastogi, to monitor the CBI probe for a fair and impartial investigation into the tragedy.
On September 27, during a public meeting organised by the Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam in Karur, a stampede occurred in which 41 people lost their lives and more than 100 sustained injuries.
Several of the injured have returned home after receiving medical treatment.
Among the deceased are 18 women, 15 men, five young girls, and five young boys, bringing the total to 41. So far, 34 victims are from the Karur district, two each from the Erode, Tiruppur, and Dindigul districts, and one from the Salem district.