Chennai: Tamil actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay will appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi on Monday, January 12, in connection with the Karur stampede case, which claimed 41 lives last year, party sources said on Sunday.

Vijay is scheduled to depose at around 11 am, following a summons issued by the CBI on January 6 under Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

He has been named as a witness in the investigation. After consultations with senior legal experts and TVK functionaries, Vijay has decided to fully cooperate with the probe and comply with the CBI summons.

Legal advisers have reportedly said that if any legal complications arise during questioning, remedies can be sought before the court, according to party sources.

They also pointed out that since TVK had earlier demanded transfer of the investigation from the state police to a central agency or judicial supervision, avoiding the summons at this stage would not be in the party’s interest.

The Karur stampede incident, which took place on September 27, 2025, at Velusamipuram during a TVK election campaign event, resulted in 41 deaths and left at least 110 people injured.

The Supreme Court later directed that the case be handed over to the CBI, and the central agency has since been leading the investigation.

As part of the ongoing probe, several TVK office-bearers, including N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, CTR Nirmal Kumar and Mathiyazhagan, have already been questioned. Statements have also been recorded from the Karur District Collector and the Superintendent of Police. The CBI reportedly spent nearly 19.5 hours examining witnesses over December 29, 30 and 31.

In a related development, teams from the CBI, Union Home Ministry and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) inspected Vijay’s campaign bus used during the Karur event on Saturday.

The bus, brought from Chennai and parked at the PWD guest house in Karur, was examined for CCTV systems and other onboard facilities. The driver, Bharanidharan (34), was also questioned as part of the verification.

Officials checked the positioning and quality of the cameras installed on the vehicle, and the inspection process was fully video recorded. Sources said the examination followed reports suggesting that high-resolution surveillance cameras were fitted to the campaign bus.

IANS