Karur, Dec 2 (IANS) A Supreme Court-appointed committee led by retired apex court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi on Tuesday began a three-day review in Karur to oversee the ongoing CBI investigation into the devastating stampede at Velusamypuram on September 27, which claimed 41 lives and left several others injured.

The stampede took place during a political rally addressed by actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay.

Justice Rastogi, accompanied by senior IPS officers Sonal Mishra and Sumit Saran, arrived at the Public Works Department Guest House around 10 a.m.

The facility is currently serving as a temporary CBI operations centre. The panel’s visit marks the first major supervisory action after the Supreme Court halted the earlier Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe led by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg and transferred the investigation to the CBI, placing it under the committee’s direct monitoring.

More than 15 CBI officials, led by Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Praveen Kumar, have been stationed in Karur for several days.

The team has been analysing crucial crowd-movement videos, surveillance camera footage, and witness testimonies to reconstruct the chain of events that led to the deadly crush.

Justice Rastogi and the supervising officers held an extensive review meeting with the investigation team on Tuesday, assessing their progress and providing directions for the next phase of the probe.

On Monday, CBI Deputy Inspector General Atul Kumar Thakur visited the stampede site after detailed discussions at the guest house, inspecting the layout and points identified as critical in the preliminary analysis of crowd flow and emergency response.

Over the next two days, the committee is expected to interact with families of the deceased as well as survivors who sustained injuries.

These meetings aim to document grievances, gather additional eyewitness accounts, and hear concerns about alleged lapses in crowd control, event coordination, and on-ground safety arrangements.

Representatives of political parties and members of the public are also likely to submit petitions to the panel.

Officials said 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 the administrative response so far, including compensation disbursement and new safety protocols introduced since the incident.

According to police sources, Justice Rastogi will conclude the Karur visit on December 4 before departing to Coimbatore to board a return flight.

—IANS

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