CBI summons Vijay to Delhi in Karur stampede probe

CHENNAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a notice to TVK president Vijay, asking him to appear for an inquiry on Jan 12 in New Delhi connection with the Karur stampede case.The summons for the Sept 27 stampede case, in which 41 people died, comes at a time when Vijay is attempting to form an alliance led by TVK for the assembly polls. A senior TVK leader said a call on whether Vijay would personally appear will be taken after consultations with the party’s legal team. “TVK has so far cooperated with the investigation and responded to all summons,” he said.CBI sources said the questioning will be based on material gathered during earlier rounds of interrogation with TVK functionaries and govt officials, including Karur district collector M Thangavel and superintendent of police K Josh Thangiah.CBI took over the investigation from the special investigation team constituted by the state govt, based a Supreme Court, in October third week. Senior TVK functionaries have appeared before the CBI twice - first time in Karur in October and the second time when they were summoned to Delhi in December. The CBI team which included CBI officers Sumit Sharan and Sonal V Mishra had also visited TVK office in Panayur in Nov to gather evidence.Subsequently, TVK submitted video evidence to the CBI to support its claim that lapses by the Tamil Nadu govt and the police led to the Karur stampede. The party also flagged issues in post-mortem procedures and placed on record details related to permissions granted for the event.