TVK chief and actor Vijay spent close to six hours at the CBI headquarters on Lodhi Road on Monday, as the federal agency continued its probe into the Karur stampede case that claimed 41 lives last year.
This was the second round of questioning for Vijay. He was earlier grilled for six hours on January 12. He had been asked to appear again on January 13 but sought another date due to Pongal, officials said.
On Monday, Vijay arrived at the CBI office around 10:20 am in a fleet of luxury SUVs and left at about 5 pm. A team led by a deputy superintendent rank officer from the agency’s anti-corruption wing questioned him through the day, officials said.
According to sources, the questioning focused on multiple aspects of the rally held in Karur on September 27.
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.
Outside the CBI office, TVK party leader C. T. Nirmal Kumar told reporters that the party was cooperating with 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.
Officials said the decision on attributing individual roles in the chargesheet would be taken only after a detailed analysis of statements recorded from the actor, senior leaders of his party, and police and district administration officials involved in granting clearance and managing the rally.
The CBI took over the case from a Special Investigation Team following a Supreme Court order. The agency has since been gathering evidence related to the stampede, which left more than 60 people injured in addition to those killed.
In October last year, the apex court directed the CBI director to appoint a senior officer to lead the probe and also set up a supervisory committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the investigation.
A bench comprising Justices J. K. Maheshwari and N. V. Anjaria had observed that the stampede had left an imprint on citizens across 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 instill such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased," the bench said.
