NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned actor-politician Vijay for a second round of questioning on January 19 in connection with the Karur stampede tragedy that claimed 41 lives last September.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam(TVK) chief, who underwent around six hours of questioning at CBI headquarters on Monday, was initially asked to return on Tuesday but requested the January 19 date, citing Pongal festivities, the agency official said.
On Monday, during questioning Vijay said that he was not responsible for the crowd crush and had left the venue immediately to avoid further tragedy.
He was questioned on matters related to the rally and subsequent stampede, including the delay in his arrival at the venue at Velusamypuram and his decision to leave the place when the situation worsened.
“He was asked to narrate the sequence of events that could have led to the stampede. He was also asked if he was aware of how congested the venue was and the expected footfall,” an agency official told TNIE.
The Tamil superstar had arrived at the heavily barricaded CBI headquarters at 11.30 am in a black Range Rover. Sources said Vijay left for Delhi from Chennai at 7am on a chartered flight on Monday with some of his TVK colleagues.
The agency had already questioned several TVK office-bearers and former ADGP (law and order) S Davidson Devasirvatham in the case.
Soon after the stampede, the Tamil Nadu police had blamed Vijay’s alleged inordinate delay in arriving at the venue for triggering the chaos, saying that the prolonged wait had led to the swelling of the crowd. The alleged six-hour delay led to crowds growing more impatient and heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Vijay, however, had denied the charges, calling them a “conspiracy” by the ruling DMK, and blamed the police for poor crowd management.
The CBI took over the case from an SIT appointed by the Tamil Nadu government following a Supreme Court order in October. The agency has been gathering evidence relating to the stampede.
Earlier, a Supreme Court bench of Justices J K Maheswari and N V Anjaria had set up a three-member supervisory committee headed by retired judge, Justice Ajay Rastogi, to monitor the probe into the stampede.
The bench had said the issue “has a bearing on the fundamental rights of citizens and the incident has shaken national conscience”, adding that it “requires fair and impartial investigation”.