Chennai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the Karur stampede, in which 41 people were killed during a political rally of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), officials said on Sunday.

A special CBI team has already visited the site at Velusamypuram in Karur, Tamil Nadu. The tragedy, which occurred on 27 September during a TVK meeting addressed by Vijay, also left over 60 people injured.

Following procedure, the CBI has re-registered the FIR filed by the state police and informed the local court about the development. The Supreme Court handed the case to the CBI in response to a petition filed by TVK seeking an independent investigation.

The apex court directed the CBI director to appoint a senior officer to take charge of the investigation, along with other officers to assist in the probe. It also set up a three-member supervisory committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi, to monitor the investigation.

A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and N V Anjaria said the stampede had left a deep impact across the country. “It has wide ramifications with respect to the life of the citizens, and enforcing the fundamental rights of the families who lost their kith and kin is of utmost importance,” the court observed.

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Highlighting the political overtones of the case, the bench criticised top police officers for commenting publicly on the incident “without having regard for the gravity of the incident”, warning that such statements could cast doubt on the impartiality of the investigation.

“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 court said.

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“Looking to the fact that the issue involved certainly has a bearing on the fundamental rights of the citizens, the incident, which has shaken the national conscience, deserves fair and impartial investigation. There cannot be any doubt that fair investigation is the right of a citizen,” it added.