Vellore (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 8 : Tamil Nadu Minister Duraimurugan questioned Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay for not visiting the houses of families affected in the Karur stampede, saying that the actor-turned politician is "afraid to come out".
Duraimurugan's statement follows the visit by TVK members to the affected families. The party members connected with Vijay through a video call, who then offered his condolences to the family.
"If Vijay had done no wrong, he could have courageously gone along with his supporters to the houses of those who died in the tragic incident and offered his condolences in person. Instead, he is afraid to come out because his own conscience is pricking him. That is why Vijay is speaking only through video calls instead of visiting the affected families directly," Duraimurugan said.
Earlier, a member of a victim's family informed that TVK members visited them and connected the family with Vijay through a video call.
"Yesterday, nine members of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) visited. During that time, they made a video call to TVK party leader Vijay and handed the phone to me. Vijay said that he was deeply saddened by the incident and would meet us soon," he said.
The stampede, which claimed 41 lives, occurred on September 27 during a public rally led by Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay. The event drew a massive crowd, and preliminary observations suggested lapses in crowd management.
Earlier, TVK filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking an impartial investigation led by a former top-court judge into the tragic stampede.
The plea, filed through advocates Dixita Gohil, Pranjal Agarwal, and Yash S Vijay, has challenged the Madras High Court's October 3 order constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Inspector General of Police to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
The petition contends that, despite the High Court's observation questioning the independence of the police probe into the matter, the High Court directed the constitution of an SIT comprising solely of three senior officers from the Tamil Nadu Police.
It also argues that a pre-planned conspiracy by certain miscreants to create trouble at the rally site cannot be ruled out as a cause of the stampede; thus, an independent probe where contesting points of fact can be placed is necessary in this regard.
In a related development, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday (October 10) an appeal against the Madras High Court's earlier dismissal of a plea seeking a CBI probe into the September 27 stampede.