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Following the directive by the Supreme Court, IPS officer Praveen Kumar arrived in Tamil Nadu's Karur on Friday to lead the CBI investigation into the stampede during Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay's rally, which claimed 41 lives.
A special CBI team comprising Additional Superintendent of Police (ADSP) Mukesh Kumar and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ramakrishnan, under the leadership of IPS Praveen Kumar, has reached the Karur district. According to police sources, documents related to the case that were in possession of the SIT have been handed over to the CBI officials. This comes after the apex court ordered a CBI probe into the case. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria also ordered a three-member committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi, to monitor the CBI probe and ensure that the investigation into the tragedy is independent and impartial. The committee, headed by Justice Rastogi, would include two senior IPS officers from the Tamil Nadu cadre who are not natives of the state, to be chosen by him, the top court noted in its order. The committee's mandate includes monitoring the CBI investigation, issuing directions on areas where further investigation is needed, reviewing the evidence collected by the CBI, supervising the investigation to ensure it reaches its logical conclusion, and undertaking any ancillary or incidental inquiry necessary to ensure a fair investigation. The committee will also be free to devise its own procedure under the directions of Justice Rastogi, the top court noted. Meanwhile, TVK Karur West District Secretary Mathiyazhagan and town functionary Paunraj, who were accused in the Karur stampede case, were released from Central Prison in Trichy on Thursday after the court refused to extend their judicial custody. Last month, a local court in Karur, Tamil Nadu, sent two TVK functionaries to 14-day judicial custody until October 14 in connection with the stampede that occurred on September 27. Mathiyazhagan and Karur town functionary, who had arranged for the flagpoles and flex banners for TVK chief Vijay's rally, were arrested on September 29 and 30, respectively. (ANI)
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