Inadequate policing triggered Karur stampede: Vijay to CBI

CHENNAI: TVK president Vijay on Monday reiterated before CBI in New Delhi that he had complied with all mandatory conditions for the Karur rally and maintained that inadequate police deployment led to the stampede during the event.

Vijay, who was questioned for nearly six hours at the probe agency’s headquarters, appeared before a deputy superintendent of police-rank officer and submitted documents sought by investigators, including the application filed by TVK seeking permission for the Sept 27, 2025, rally. When asked whether police guidelines were followed by him at the rally, Vijay replied that all mandated conditions were complied with, TVK sources said. Vijay left for Chennai later in the day.


This was Vijay’s second round of questioning. He had earlier told the CBI on Jan 12 that poor crowd management and insufficient police deployment triggered the chaos at the Karur rally.

He reiterated the same stand on Monday, party leaders said, adding that the agency has not asked him to depose again.

A TVK functionary said Vijay was questioned on why he continued his speech even after the situation began to worsen. Vijay told investigators that he stopped his address immediately after realising the gravity of the situation, but pointed to the lack of adequate crowd-control measures as the reason for the stampede.

TVK joint general secretary C T R Nirmal Kumar dismissed reports suggesting that Vijay’s name could figure in the chargesheet as “baseless”.

Nirmal Kumar referred to Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran’s allegation that former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji was responsible for the incident and demanded a fair and impartial investigation to “bring to book those responsible for the stampede”.

Meanwhile, DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan alleged that Vijay was being subjected to political pressure following his appearance before CBI and accused the BJP-led Union govt of misusing investigative agencies for political purposes.