Karur, Dec 2 (LatestNewsX) – On Tuesday, a committee appointed by the Supreme Court, headed by former apex‑court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi, kicked off a three‑day inspection in Karur to oversee the CBI’s investigation into the fatal stampede that took place at Velusamypuram on September 27. The crush, which claimed 41 lives and injured several others, occurred during a political rally delivered by actor‑turned‑political figure Vijay of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
Accompanied by senior IPS officials Sonal Mishra and Sumit Saran, Justice Rastogi arrived around 10 a.m. at the Public Works Department Guest House, which is now functioning as a temporary CBI operations centre. This visit represents the first major supervisory step after the Supreme Court halted the earlier Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe led by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg and transferred the case to the CBI, placing it under the committee’s direct oversight.
More than 15 CBI officers, headed by Gujarat‑cadre IPS officer Praveen Kumar, have been stationed in Karur for several days. They have been scrutinising critical crowd‑movement footage, CCTV recordings and witness statements to piece together how the tragedy unfolded.
During Tuesday’s session, Justice Rastogi and the supervisory officers sat down with the investigative team for an extensive review, evaluating their progress and outlining the next phases of the probe. The following day, CBI Deputy Inspector General Atul Kumar Thakur visited the site after detailed discussions at the guest house, inspecting the layout and key points highlighted in the preliminary crowd‑flow analysis.
Over the next two days the committee is expected to interact with families of the victims and survivors who sustained injuries. These meetings aim to capture grievances, gather additional eyewitness accounts and address concerns about alleged shortcomings in crowd control, event coordination and on‑ground safety measures.
Representatives of political parties and members of the public are also likely to submit petitions to the panel, all of which will be formally recorded as part of the fact‑finding exercise. Karur District Collector M. Thangavel and RDO Mohammed Faizal briefed the committee on the administrative response so far, including compensation disbursement and new safety protocols instituted since the incident.
According to police sources, Justice Rastogi will conclude his visit to Karur on December 4 before heading to Coimbatore for a return flight. —LatestNewsX / aal/rad
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