The Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has urged the Madras High Court to hand over the investigation of the Karur tragedy to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing concerns over the impartiality
of the Tamil Nadu Police.
Aadhav Arjuna, General Secretary of TVK’s Election Campaign Management, filed the plea, alleging that the state government and police acted in a partisan manner.
The petition claims that narrow and unsuitable venues were allotted for TVK rallies, electricity was repeatedly cut during events, and goondas infiltrated the Karur rally, hurling stones and slippers at actor-politician Vijay and the public.
The plea also alleges that police lathi-charged innocent attendees and that ambulances without patients worsened the panic, contributing to the tragic stampede that claimed 41 lives, including nine children, on Saturday.
TVK’s DEMANDS FROM THE COURT
In its plea, the TVK demanded an immediate transfer of the probe to the CBI for an impartial investigation, along with the seizure of the CCTV footage around the rally venue.
It also demanded an ad-interim injunction allowing Vijay and party members to visit victims and families without obstruction.
Earlier, former interim general secretary of the AIADMK, VK Sasikala, demanded a probe by the central agency into the Karur stampede tragedy, stating that only such an inquiry would reveal the truth behind the incident.
The Karur Police booked a case under provisions, including negligence, against TVK office-bearers, while forensic experts commenced a probe and covered spots like a sewer where a couple of bodies were allegedly found.
Traders, shops and commercial establishments in Karur closed their shutters as a mark of respect to the deceased.
The stampede happened during a political rally led by Vijay.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured, while the state government has announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.
The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee announced Rs 1 crore to the families of the dead, and the BJP announced Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
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