Vijay rally stampede: Madras High Court principal bench orders SIT probe after Madurai bench declines CBI probe

The Madras High Court on Friday reportedly ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the September 27 stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur, where 41 persons died after crowds swelled to see actor-turned-politician and TVK founder Vijay speak.

According to an update from The Hindu, Justice N Senthilkumar passed the order while hearing a petition which questioned why Vijay was not named in the criminal case registered in the wake of the stampede.

The Court reportedly also cricitised the TVK leadership for how it has handled the matter.

Interestingly, a Division Bench of the High Court's seat at Madurai had earlier today refused to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter, after noting that the State's investigation into the case was at a nascent stage.

Order copy awaited.

On September 27, a stampede unfolded at a rally organised by the TVK party in Veluswamypuram, Karur district, when Vijay was campaigning.

At least 41 people died during the stampede, including women and children, and dozens were injured.

Following the event, an FIR was filed against several TVK functionaries (excluding Vijay) under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, for failing to ensure safety and for misrepresenting expected crowd size and venue arrangements. 

This afternoon, a single-judge Bench at the Court's seat in Madurai also reserved its verdict in anticipatory bail petitions filed by two TVK functionaries named in the FIR.