Supreme Court Panel to Visit Karur Stampede Site: CBI Investigation Underway as Political Tensions Rise

The Supreme Court of India (File).

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court-appointed investigative panel is preparing to visit the site of last month's tragic stampede in Karur, Tamil Nadu, according to sources who spoke with NDTV on Thursday.

Prior to this important site inspection, the panel has requested Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to designate a nodal officer. This officer will serve as the critical liaison between the three-member panel, the Central Bureau of Investigation (tasked by the Supreme Court to investigate the incident), and the Tamil Nadu government, ensuring seamless coordination among all parties involved.

The Supreme Court ordered the CBI investigation on October 12 following the deadly stampede that occurred at a political rally organized by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief and actor Vijay. The TVK leader, positioned to make his electoral debut in next year's election, has emerged as a significant political contender. Sources now indicate the panel has contacted the federal agency requesting progress updates and a strategic framework for the ongoing investigation.

The investigative panel is headed by retired judge Justice Ajay Rastogi and includes two other members: Sumit Saran, on deputation from the Border Security Force, and Sonal V Mishra, Inspector-General (Provisioning) from the Central Reserve Police Force.

The Tamil Nadu government had initially resisted the CBI's involvement and challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. However, the court raised several pointed questions, including why TVK was granted permission for an event at a location where another opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, had previously been denied.

The Supreme Court also expressed concern about the Madras High Court's handling of the case, noting discrepancies between the Chennai principal bench's directive for a special team investigation and the Madurai bench's rejection of CBI involvement, despite Karur falling under the Madurai bench's jurisdiction.

In assigning the investigation to the CBI, the Supreme Court emphasized, "The faith and trust of the general public in the criminal justice system must be restored... one way is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased."

The CBI initiated its investigation last week, with officials confirming that a team has visited the stampede site and re-registered the case originally filed by state police, as legally required.

A political blame game has predictably erupted in the aftermath of the tragedy that claimed 41 lives, including women and children. The TVK has accused the DMK of pursuing "vendetta politics" against their emerging party ahead of next year's election. Meanwhile, the DMK contends that TVK disregarded police safety warnings and attributes the fatal crowd congestion to "inordinate delays" by Vijay, who reportedly arrived hours after his scheduled appearance time.

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