Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay arrives at the CBI headquarters for questioning in connection with the 2025 Karur stampede case, in New Delhi, Sunday, March 15, 2026. Photo: PTI
Stampede case: CBI conducts third round of questioning with TVK chief Vijay in Delhi
Defying requests for a venue shift to Chennai, CBI conduct a third round of questioning with Vijay regarding the 2025 rally tragedy that claimed 41 lives
On Sunday (March 15), the CBI questioned actor and TVK chief Vijay for the third time at its headquarters in Delhi in the Karur stampede case.
According to officials, Vijay was examined twice in January and this is the third session with him.
The actor was earlier summoned on March 9, but had requested the date to be deferred by 15 days, they said. The actor had also urged that the questioning be conducted in Chennai or any office in Tamil Nadu, citing political engagements due to the upcoming assembly elections in the state, they said.
However, both requests were declined by the agency which summoned the actor on Sunday at its headquarters in Delhi, they said.
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The central probe agency has also asked the DMK MLA from Karur, Senthil Balaji, to appear for questioning on March 17, they said.
CBI probe
The CBI took over the case from a SIT following a Supreme Court order and has been gathering evidence related to the September 27, 2025, stampede that claimed 41 lives and left more than 60 people injured during Vijay's rally in Tamil Nadu's Karur.
In October last year, the apex court asked the CBI director to appoint a senior officer to take over the investigation and also constituted a supervisory committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the agency's investigation.
A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and N V Anjaria had said the stampede has left an imprint in the minds of citizens throughout the country. It has wide ramifications with respect to the lives of citizens, and enforcing the fundamental rights of the families who lost their kin is of utmost importance, the court said.
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"The faith and trust of the general public in the process of investigation must be restored in the criminal justice system, and one way to instil such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased," the bench said.
(With agency inputs)