Karur incident: CBI monitoring team questions District Magistrate, IG, SP
Tamil Nadu: A CBI monitoring team led by retired Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi on Tuesday inquired with the District Collector, Trichy Inspector General, and Karur Superintendent of Police about the Karur incident.
On September 27, a stampede at Thaveka leader Vijay’s campaign rally in Veluchamipuram, Karur, killed 41 people and injured 110 others.
The Supreme Court ordered the CBI to investigate the incident, and a monitoring committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ajay Rastogi and consisting of two senior IPS officers will examine the evidence collected by the CBI and take steps to expedite the investigation.
IPS officers Sonal Mishra and Sumit Charan were appointed to this team. Under their supervision, CBI officers, including Gujarat IPS officer Praveen Kumar and Additional Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar, are conducting the investigation in Karur.
In light of this situation, Justice Ajay Rastogi arrived in Karur from Coimbatore on Tuesday. Later, he consulted with a team of CBI officers staying at the Public Works Department Tourist House. He inquired about the current status of the investigation.
Following this, Karur District Magistrate M. Thangavel and Kottakshi Mohammed Faisal paid a courtesy visit to Judge Ajay Rastogi. Later, at 12 noon, Magistrate M. Thangavel again appeared before the CBI monitoring team. The team questioned him for about three hours.
The team then questioned Trichy Police Station Superintendent K. Joshinmalkumar, Karur District Superintendent of Police K. Joshathangaiah, Karur City Deputy Superintendent of Police Selvaraj, and Karur City Police Inspector Manivannan.
More than 10 families of those killed in the stampede later appeared before the CBI monitoring team and gave their explanations.
Petition by political parties and traders’ associations: Vijay died because he was late for a campaign meeting. Therefore, P. Arulkumar, District Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Kongu Youth Council, and Venkataraman, Executive of the Karur District All Traders Association Council and the Hotel Owners Association, filed a petition with the Monitoring Committee demanding action against him.
Similarly, Pasuvaai Peru.Bharathi, District Secretary of the Adi Tamil Peravai, filed a petition demanding action against Vijay under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, as more than 20 Scheduled Caste people died in the stampede.
