TVK chief Vijay appears before CBI for questioning in Karur stampede case
New Delhi/Chennai (PTI): TVK chief and actor Vijay appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday for questioning in connection with the Karur stampede case, officials said.
The Tamil superstar reached the heavily barricaded CBI headquarters here at 11.29 am in a black Range Rover.
After completion of the necessary formalities, he was taken to the team in the Anti-Corruption unit of the agency that is investigating the September 27, 2025, stampede, which claimed 41 lives and left more than 60 injured in Tamil Nadu's Karur.
Anticipating a huge turnout of the actor-politician's supporters, multiple units of Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces were deployed around the CBI office building to prevent any protests.
ALSO READ: Karur stampede case: TVK chief Vijay leaves for Delhi for CBI probe
A small group of fans managed to slip in among the mediapersons gathered outside the CBI office to get a glimpse of the actor.
"We are all based in Delhi. We are around 40 fans who have come here to get a glimpse of the actor. We are all big fans of the star," Aiyanar, one of the fans who works as an operations manager with a Noida-based MNC, told PTI.
Vijay left for Delhi from Chennai at 7 am on a chartered flight with some of his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) colleagues, including Aadhav Arjuna, party sources said.
The CBI has also questioned several TVK office bearers in the case.
According to the officials, the CBI has also summoned Tamil Nadu's former ADG, law and order, S Davidson Devasirvatham in the case.
The federal agency took over the case from an SIT following a Supreme Court order and has been gathering evidence related to the stampede.
In October last year, the apex court asked the CBI director to appoint a senior officer to take over the investigation.
The court also set up a three-member supervisory committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the CBI probe.
ALSO READ: Vijay to appear before CBI in Delhi on Jan 12 over Karur case, party seeks security
A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and N V Anjaria said the stampede has left an imprint in the minds of citizens throughout the country.
It has wide ramifications with respect to the life of citizens and enforcing the fundamental rights of the families who lost their kin is of utmost importance, the court said.
Noting the political undertones of the case, the court said top police officers have made comments before the media "without having regard for the gravity of the incident", which may create a doubt in the minds of the citizenry regarding an impartial and fair investigation.
"The faith and trust of the general public in the process of investigation must be restored in the criminal justice system, and one way to instil such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased," the bench said.
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K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
