The Madras High Court has also dismissed a plea seeking a CBI probe into the incident. The Madras High Court has ordered the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by senior IPS officer Asra Garg to investigate the deadly stampede during actor-politician Vijay’s rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur. The incident, which took place on September 27, left 41 people dead and more than 60 others injured.
Notably, a single-judge bench of the court also reportedly criticised the functionaries of Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The high court has also dismissed a plea seeking a CBI probe into the incident. While dismissing the plea, the bench asked the petitioner to approach the Madurai bench of the HC. On Friday, the Madras HC also rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by TVK district secretary N Sathish Kumar, who was seeking bail in the stampede case.
The judge questioned why the party did not manage to control the mob and the unruly conduct of its members, including the rampage and the destruction of public property during Vijay’s roadshow. The stampede during Vijay’s rally resulted in the deaths of 41 people and left many others injured. The event drew a huge crowd, and a preliminary probe has suggested that failures in crowd management led to the chaos.
Notably, Vijay and his party suspended all political rallies for the next two weeks after the incident and put a halt to his statewide election campaign. “In this situation where we are in pain and sorrow over the loss of our loved ones, the public meeting program of our party leader for the next two weeks is being temporarily postponed. We inform you with the approval of our party leader that new details regarding this public meeting will be announced later,” the party posted on X in Tamil.
