R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, DEC 2
A Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by retired apex court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi on Tuesday launched a crucial three-day review in Karur to supervise the ongoing CBI investigation into the Velusamypuram stampede, which killed 41 people and left dozens injured during a political rally addressed by actor-politician Vijay on September 27.
Karur, Tamil Nadu: A team led by former judge of Supreme Court, Justice Ajay Rastogi, monitoring the Karur CBI investigation, visited the Camp House where CBI officials are staying. Accompanied by IPS officers Sonal Mishra and Sumit Charan, the team is set to review the… pic.twitter.com/V0W9lTvukp
— IANS (@ians_india) December 2, 2025
- Three-Day assessment begins; Justice Ajay Rastogi reviews evidence, meets investigators
- Families of victims, survivors to depose before panel; political representatives expected to submit petitions
- CBI Team examining crowd footage, eyewitness accounts to reconstruct sequence leading to 41 deaths
Justice Rastogi, accompanied by senior IPS officers Sonal Mishra and Sumit Saran, reached the Public Works Department (PWD) Guest House at around 10 a.m. The facility has been converted into a temporary CBI operations hub for the high-profile probe. The committee’s visit marks the first major oversight exercise after the Supreme Court halted the SIT investigation led by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg and handed over the case to the CBI under direct SC supervision.
A CBI team of over 15 officers, led by Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Praveen Kumar, has been stationed in Karur for several days. Investigators are analysing extensive digital evidence — including crowd-movement visuals, CCTV footage and mobile recordings — to reconstruct the sequence of events that triggered the catastrophic crowd crush.
Justice Rastogi and the supervising officers conducted a detailed review meeting with the CBI team on Tuesday, examining progress, gaps in evidence and priorities for the next phase of the probe.
On Monday, CBI Deputy Inspector General Atul Kumar Thakur visited the accident site after a comprehensive briefing at the guest house, inspecting critical points identified in the preliminary crowd-flow assessment and emergency-response mapping.
Over the next two days, the Supreme Court committee is expected to meet families of the deceased, injured survivors and eyewitnesses. These interactions are aimed at capturing grievances, verifying accounts of alleged lapses in crowd management and evaluating claims of coordination failures during the event. Political representatives and members of the public are also likely to submit written petitions; all submissions will be formally recorded as part of the fact-finding exercise.
Karur District Collector M. Thangavel and RDO Mohammed Faizal received the committee and briefed them on administrative action taken so far — including compensation disbursement, support for affected families and new safety protocols introduced post-incident.
Justice Rastogi is scheduled to conclude the Karur review on December 4, after which he will travel to Coimbatore to board a return flight.
