In Karur Stampede Case, Supreme Court Panel Swings Into Action, To Visit Site

The Supreme Court-appointed panel tasked with investigating the stampede in Tamil Nadu's Karur last month is to visit the site of the tragedy soon, sources told NDTV Thursday.

Ahead of that visit, the panel has written to Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to appoint a nodal officer – who will act as the 'key facilitator' between the three-member panel; the Central Bureau of Investigation, which the top court directed to probe the stampede; and the state government, to ensure coordination and cooperation between all three entities.

On October 12 the top court had ordered the CBI to probe the stampede, which broke out at a political rally headlined by actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay. The TVK chief, who will make his electoral debut in next year's election, has emerged as a dark horse in that race.

The court also set up the three-member panel, led by retired judge Justice Ajay Rastogi, to oversee the CBI inquiry into a tragedy that killed 41 people. Sources said it has now written to the federal agency asking for an update and a road map for how its investigation might proceed.

The other two members are Sumit Saran, on deputation from the Border Security Force, and Sonal V Mishra, Inspector-General (Provisioning) from the Central Reserve Police Force.

The Tamil Nadu government had opposed handing the case to the CBI and approached the Supreme Court to register its challenge. The court, however, asked several questions of the state, including asking why the TVK was allowed an event at the spot when another opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, had been denied permission.

41 people, including women and children, were killed in the stampede. Photo: ANI

The top court also criticised the Madras High Court's handling of the case, focusing on the principal bench (in Chennai) directing the investigation to be handled by a special team while the Madurai bench rejected a plea to have the CBI, as a non-state actor, involved in the case.

The court pointed out Karur falls under the Madurai bench's jurisdiction.

In handing the case to the federal agency, the Supreme Court remarked, "The faith and trust of the general public in the criminal justice system must be restored… one way is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased."

The CBI began its investigation last week. Agency officials said a team visited the stampede site and re-registered the case first filed by the state police force, as required by law.

An entirely predictable blame game has erupted over the stampede, with the TVK accusing the DMK of 'vendetta politics' against the fledgling party before next year's election. The DMK, meanwhile, has said its new rival ignored safety warnings from police at the event and blamed 'inordinate delays' by Vijay – who arrived hours after he was scheduled – for the crowd build-up.

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