Chennai: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi on Monday and firmly denied any responsibility for the deadly stampede that occurred at a political rally in Tamil Nadu last year, according to sources familiar with the proceedings.
The stampede took place on September 27, 2025, in Karur during a massive public meeting addressed by Vijay, resulting in the deaths of 41 people.
The incident is regarded as one of the most serious crowd-related disasters in the state’s recent political history and has been under investigation following allegations of lapses in planning and crowd control.
Sources said Vijay was questioned for nearly six hours and reiterated that neither he nor his party was responsible for the tragedy.
He reportedly told investigators that he left the venue after assessing the situation to prevent further loss of life. Party insiders said Vijay maintained that the organisers had no role in provoking the chaos that led to the stampede.
The same position has been conveyed earlier by TVK functionaries who were summoned by the agency as part of the probe.
CBI officials indicated that Vijay’s questioning is not yet complete and that he will be summoned again. They said his statements would be cross-verified with police accounts, eyewitness testimonies, and other documentary and technical evidence collected during the investigation.
However, sources added that Vijay sought a temporary adjournment of questioning, citing the Pongal festival. As a result, he is not expected to be called immediately and is likely to face further questioning after the festival period.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Tamil Nadu Police had alleged that an inordinate delay in Vijay’s arrival at the venue caused the crowd to swell uncontrollably, triggering panic and chaos.
Police had also flagged alleged inadequacies in arrangements such as food, drinking water, and toilet facilities, claiming these factors contributed to unrest among the large gathering.
Vijay has categorically rejected these allegations, calling them politically motivated and accusing the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam of attempting to deflect blame. He has instead blamed the police for poor crowd management, alleging that bottlenecks on approach roads were not cleared in time despite warnings.
The CBI probe continues, with investigators seeking to establish accountability through a detailed reconstruction of events leading up to the tragedy.
(IANS)
