Karur stampede: CBI summons TVK chief Vijay to appear for questioning on January 12

On October 13, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede, which occurred during a rally of actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on September 27.

Chennai: Popular actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to appear at its headquarters in New Delhi on January 12 in connection with the stampede at his rally in Karur on September 27 last year in which 41 people died.

The summons have the potential to create ripples in Tamil Nadu politics with the assembly elections scheduled to be held in April-May – Vijay’s plunge into politics has already disrupted the landscape with the actor expected to make a dent into the traditional vote bank of the Dravidian majors, DMK and AIADMK.

“Yes. We have received summons asking Vijay to appear before the Investigation Officer (IO) on January 12. We are evaluating the situation and discussing the issue with our lawyers,” a source in Vijay’s camp told DH.

The summons came at a time when the actor’s legal team is literally burning the midnight oil to get the nod from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for the January 9 release of his cinema swansong, Jana Nayagan (People’s Hero). The Madras High Court on Tuesday said it will hear the matter on Wednesday after the Bengaluru-based KVN Productions made a submission that it was willing to accept U/A 16+ certificate.

Vijay being asked to come to New Delhi for questioning comes amid repeated requests from Tamil Nadu BJP leaders to the actor to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to “defeat” the DMK regime led by Chief Minister M K Stalin.

While Vijay has maintained that he will contest the 2026 elections independently, without an alliance, his critics say that the actor has been hesitant in criticizing the Union Government after the Karur episode.

The Supreme Court had on October 13 transferred the probe to the CBI after suspending the one-person enquiry commission headed by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan.

Vijay, who is projecting himself as the prime challenger to the ruling DMK, is likely to cut into the anti-government and anti-DMK votes if he contests alone and hence the AIADMK-BJP wants his TVK to formally join the TVK to prevent the vote split.

Though Vijay has so far resisted the calls, DMK allies alleged that asking him to come to New Delhi when he can be summoned to the CBI office in Chennai is nothing but a pressure tactic to push him towards the NDA.

“That Vijay will be summoned to New Delhi was known the day the case was transferred to the CBI. Let us see how Vijay handles the situation,” a DMK ally told DH.

TVK leaders – N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, C T R Nirmal Kumar, and Madhiazhagan – appeared before the CBI for questioning for three days in the last week of December 2025.