The opposition DMK has escalated its concerns to the CBI and the Supreme Court-appointed Supervisory Committee, demanding action against Minister Aadhav Arjuna for allegedly influencing witnesses in the ongoing Karur stampede investigation, amidst Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's controversial visit to the affected area.
Key Points
- DMK seeks CBI action against Minister Aadhav Arjuna for alleged witness influence in the Karur stampede probe.
- The Supreme Court declined to regulate CM C Joseph Vijay's visit to Karur, which the DMK opposes due to the ongoing investigation.
- DMK alleges Minister Arjuna's public speech on July 2 amounted to influencing witnesses in the Supreme Court-monitored CBI case.
- The stampede, which occurred on September 27, 2025, claimed 41 lives and left many injured.
- DMK requests CBI to record and preserve material witnesses' status before any interaction to maintain evidentiary value.
After the Supreme Court declined to regulate Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's Karur visit, the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam approached the Supervisory Committee headed by Justice (retd) Ajay Rastogi, and the CBI seeking appropriate steps to register a case against minister Aadhav Arjuna.
DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi, who submitted a memorandum, asked the Supervisory Committee to direct the CBI to ensure safeguards during the proposed visit of the chief minister to Karur for distributing monetary benefits, compassionate appointments or governmental largesse to the victims' families and the injured.
Vijay is scheduled to meet the families of the stampede victims on July 10.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court declined to regulate the visit of Vijay and pulled up the DMK for its plea questioning the visit, alleging that the state ministers were influencing witnesses in the matter.
The DMK is opposed to the CM's visit in view of the ongoing Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the tragic stampede on September 27, 2025, that claimed 41 lives, besides leaving many injured.
Allegations Against Minister Aadhav Arjuna
In his plea before Justice Rastogi, Bharathi sought appropriate direction to the CBI to register a case on the public speech made on July 2 by TVK general secretary and state Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna.
Bharathi claimed that Arjuna, an accused in the case relating to the Karur stampede being investigated by the CBI, was capable of affecting the witnesses in the stampede case.
The minister's speech amounted to 'influencing witnesses and interdicting with the ongoing investigation by the CBI and monitored by the Supreme Court-appointed Supervisory Committee', the DMK leader said, enclosing the text of Arjuna's speech in Tamil along with the English translation.
Minister's Controversial Remarks
According to Bharathi, the Minister had said, "Karur is a very important town for me. There is a score to settle. We will not let it go without settling that score."
"For the sake of Udhayanidhi's life you (then Chief Minister M K Stalin) massacred our people through the police department, the answer for that will happen one day," the minister had said.
Ensuring Fair Investigation
Further, Bharathi sought a direction to the CBI to 'record and preserve appropriately and transparently the status of the material witnesses before any such interaction, so that the evidentiary value of their statements remains unaffected and such other directions as this committee may deem fit in the interest of a fair, independent, and impartial investigation'.
