19 January,2026 07:33 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Thalapathy Vijay
TVK chief and actor Vijay appeared for the second round of questioning at the CBI office in New Delhi in connection with the Karur stampede. The actor turned politician arrived at the agency headquarters on Lodhi Road in a fleet of luxury SUVs at around 10:20 am. He left at about 5 pm, the officials said.
Vijay was questioned during the day by a team of officials led by a deputy superintendent rank officer drawn from the agency's anti-corruption wing, the officials said.
Several questions related to decision-making about the rally, reasons for his delay, continuation of the speech, his knowledge about the ongoing chaos, turnout and mismanagement of the crowd were put forth to him, they said.
The call on attributing the role of individuals in the chargesheet will be taken only after a thorough analysis of the statements of the actor, senior political officials of his party, and police and district administration officials involved in the process of giving clearance and managing the rally, they said.
The federal agency took over the case from an SIT following a Supreme Court order and has been gathering evidence related to the September 27 stampede, which claimed 41 lives and left more than 60 injured in Tamil Nadu's Karur.
In October last year, the apex court had asked the CBI director to appoint a senior officer to take over the investigation and also constituted a supervisory committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the agency's investigation.
Meanwhile, Thalapathy Vijay's last film Jana Nayagan is also struggling to get a release date. The film's release has been stalled as the censor board has raised objections to the film's content. The case is currently being heard by the Madras High Court.
KVN productions had filed a plea challenging the stay on film's release and CBFC certification by the division bench of Madras High Court. The Supreme Court refused to entertain the plea and asked the Madras HC to make the decision on January 20, 2026.
ana Nayagan, which is widely publicised as Vijay's final film before his full-fledged entry into politics, was slated for a Pongal release on January 9. However, the film ran into last-minute hurdles after the CBFC did not issue certification in time.
