TIRUCHY: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday questioned officials of the State Highways Department and local Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionaries as part of its probe into the stampede during actor and the fledgling party president Vijay’s Karur campaign, which left 41 people dead and 110 injured on September 27.
The inquiry was conducted at CBI's base at the PWD guest house in Karur, even as TVK president, actor Vijay, received a summons to appear before the agency's sleuths in Delhi on January 12 as part of the probe.
The central agency, which began its investigation on October 17 following a Supreme Court directive, has taken over records from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and has been examining multiple sides linked to the incident.
Investigators have made several visits to the meeting venue at Velusamypuram, conducted a digital survey, and carried out a 3D assessment to estimate crowd density at the time Vijay began his address.
As part of the ongoing inquiry, the CBI has summoned officials from various departments, including police personnel deployed at the venue, ambulance crew members, and event organisers.
Senior TVK leaders—among them general secretary N Anand, deputy general secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar, general secretary for election campaign management Aadhav Arjuna, Karur district secretary VP Mathiyazhagan, and town secretary MC Pounraj—were questioned at the PWD guest house, where the agency has set up its inquiry base.
On Thursday, investigators also examined State Highways officials from Karur, focusing on the proximity of the meeting venue to the Namakkal–Karur highway. Local TVK functionaries were questioned separately between 10 am and 12.30 pm, with their statements cross-verified against earlier testimonies.