The CBI has taken over the investigation into the Karur stampede, in which 41 people were killed during a political rally of actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
News agency PTI quoted officials as saying that a special team of CBI has already visited the incident site at Velusamipuram in Karur, Tamil Nadu.
It is noteworthy that on September 27, 41 people lost their lives and more than 60 were injured in the stampede that took place at the TVK meeting addressed by Vijay.
As per procedure, the CBI has re-registered the state police FIR and also informed the local court about the developments, officials said.
The Supreme Court had handed over the case to the CBI on a petition filed by Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) for an independent investigation. The Supreme Court directed the CBI Director to appoint a senior officer to take charge of the investigation and also appoint some other officers to assist him.
The court also constituted a three-member supervisory committee headed by former apex court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the CBI investigation. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria said that the September 27 stampede has left a mark in the minds of citizens across the country.
The court said that this has wide-ranging implications with respect to the lives of citizens and it is extremely important to enforce the fundamental rights of the families who have lost their kin.
Noting the political implications of the case, the court said that top police officers have made comments to the media “without considering the seriousness of the incident”, which may create doubt in the minds of citizens about a fair and proper investigation.
It was stated by the court, “The confidence and trust of the general public in the process of investigation in the criminal justice system must be restored, and one way of instilling such confidence is to ensure that the investigation in the present case is completely fair, independent and impartial.”
The bench said, “In view of the fact that the issue in question definitely impacts the fundamental rights of the citizens, this incident has shocked the national consciousness and there should be a fair investigation. There can be no doubt that a fair investigation is the right of a citizen.”
