The Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi and comprising senior IPS officers Sonal Mishra and Sumit Saran, reached the Public Works Department Guest House, which is operating as the temporary CBI office at Karur on December 2, 2025
| Photo Credit: M. Moorthy
The Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi, on Tuesday (December 2, 2025), began its three-day visit to Karur to monitor the ongoing CBI investigation into the September 27 stampede at Velusamypuram in which 41 people died and several sustained injuries during a political rally conducted by actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay.
Retired judge Rastogi, accompanied by senior IPS officers Sonal Mishra and Sumit Saran, reached the Public Works Department Guest House, which is operating as the temporary CBI office in the district around 10 a.m. The visit follows the Supreme Court’s order halting the earlier SIT probe led by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg and transferring the case to the CBI, placing it under the committee’s supervision.
Over 15 CBI personnel, led by Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Praveen Kumar, have been stationed in Karur for several days, analysing crowd-movement videos, witness accounts and surveillance footage. Mr. Rastogi and the supervising officers held a detailed review meeting with the team.
On Monday (December 1), CBI Deputy Inspector General Atul Kumar Thakur inspected the stampede site after consultations at the guest house.
Committee to meet families
Over the next two days, retired judge Rastogi’s team is scheduled to meet families of the deceased and the injured to document their grievances and concerns. People and representatives of political parties are also expected to submit petitions to the committee, detailing alleged lapses in crowd control, event planning, and emergency response. Officials said these submissions would be taken on record as part of the fact-finding process.
A woman walks into the CBI’s temporary office in Karur on December 2, 2025 to hand over a petition to the committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi
| Photo Credit:
M. Moorthy
Karur District Collector M. Thangavel and RDO Mohammed Faizal welcomed the committee members and briefed them on the administrative response, including compensation disbursal and safety protocols introduced since the incident.
Police sources said Mr. Rastogi will remain in Karur until December 4, before leaving for Coimbatore to fly back.
Published – December 02, 2025 01:09 pm IST
