Actor-politician Vijay has told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that he followed all safety guidelines during the rally at Tamil Nadu's Karur, where a stampede claimed 41 lives. The TVK chief was at the CBI headquarters in Delhi this morning for the second round of questioning in connection with the case.
According to sources, Vijay told the investigators that he adhered to all police-prescribed guidelines during the programme. A massive crowd had gathered at the Karur venue on September 27. Vijay arrived late at the rally, and this led to further crowding. It is alleged that he continued his speech even after jostling began. Vijay reportedly flagged the inadequate deployment of forces for crowd control.
The actor was earlier questioned at the CBI headquarters on January 12 for more than six hours. He was then summoned on Tuesday, but he requested a date change, citing Pongal celebrations.
Sources in the CBI have clarified that no individual has been given a clean chit in the case so far.
The central agency took over the investigation into the stampede tragedy after the Supreme Court said the incident had shaken the national conscience, and said a fair investigation was needed.
As the questioning was on, fans of the popular actor, often known as 'Thalapathy', gathered outside the CBI's headquarters in a show of solidarity. "Thalapathy sir is also deeply saddened by the incident in Karur, where 41 people lost their lives. You can't blame only Thalapathy. There wasn't even as much police force there as you see here," a fan told news agency ANI.
"There weren't police officers. That's why this happened. Who knows how many people infiltrated the crowd...the infiltrators are the ones who caused the stampede, that's how all this happened," another fan alleged.
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