Inside Karur stampede probe: Vijay faced 90 questions and ‘taxing’ first round

Actor-politician Vijay left for Delhi on Sunday to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 19 in connection with the Karur stampede case in which 41 people were killed due to a crowd crush.

Vijay left by a chartered flight for Delhi at 4.15pm, according to Chennai airport officials. Clad in a white shirt, Vijay waved to his fans and showed a little heart symbol before getting into the airport. This is the second time Vijay will be appearing before the CBI for questioning in the Karur stampede case. After seven hours of questioning on January 12, the Jana Nayagan actor was asked to come again on Monday, as he sought another date, citing Pongal festival and celebrations by his party.

According to insiders, during his first appearance, he was given a set of 90 questions in a written format and was questioned by a Dy. Superintendent-level officer. He was allowed to take assistance from a stenographer to record the answers in English, type them, and duly sign later.

The questioning, according to highly placed sources, was very structured and more intense, focusing just on the sequence of events that led to the crowd crush. Sources also said that the questions were mainly based on the depositions or statements made by the organisers from his party and his campaign bus driver. Sources said that the questions were based on a chronological order of the events on the Karur rally day, focusing mainly on the reasons for his late arrival and also on why he rushed back from the spot after the stampede.

On January 19, sources say, Vijay will be questioned based on the statements made by his party functionaries, district administration and former Tamil Nadu ADGP (Law and Order) S. Davidson Devasirvatham. Though Vijay is mentally prepared for the second round of questioning, sources close to him say that the first round of enquiry was a bit "taxing" as the actor did not expect the questions in a written booklet format.