The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the Karur stampede, has reportedly postponed its second round of interrogation and let actor-politician Vijay return to Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The central agency had earlier scheduled a second round of interrogation with the actor on Tuesday.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader reached Delhi on Monday morning after the central agency summoned him in connection with the probe into the tragic stampede during Vijay's rally in Karur last year. Vijay, who reached Delhi from Chennai in a chartered flight and landed at Palam airport just before noon. He reached the headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Lodhi Road soon after.
The new entrant in Tamil Nadu politics was questioned for over six hours on various aspects related to the tragedy. The agency reportedly questioned Vijay to narrate the sequence of incidents as known to him and his perspective on what could have led to the stampede. The actor-politician was reportedly also asked about whether he expected such a huge turnout for the rally, and whether he was aware of the situation before he reached the venue.
The TVK leader was also reportedly quizzed why he arrived about seven hours late to the meeting and why he left soon after the incident. According to official sources, Vijay told the CBI sleuths that neither Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) nor its functionaries were responsible for the Karur stampede and squarely blamed the state and district administration for the tragedy.
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Vijay reportedly told the investigators that he chose to leave the rally venue after sensing that his continued presence amid the swelling crowd could lead to further chaos, rather than defusing it.
Vijay left from the CBI headquarters around 7pm, along with party functionaries Aadhav Arjuna and C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar. While the CBI had summoned Vijay for second day of questioning on Tuesday, Vijay requested the agency to postpone the questioning so that he could take part in Pongal events organised by his party in Tamil Nadu. Vijay will return to Chennai on Tuesday morning. The CBI is likely to summon again the actor again for probe after Pongal festival.