The story so far
The tragic stampede at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy stadium, which claimed the lives of 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans, has snowballed into a major political and administrative crisis. Among those facing the heat is MLC K. Govindaraj, who has been removed from his post as Political Secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Several senior police officials, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, have been suspended by the government.
What was meant to be a moment of historic celebration, RCB’s first IPL title win in 18 years, has turned into one of the State’s worst crowd-control disasters in recent times. Instead of jubilation, the incident has left the Congress-led Karnataka government grappling with outrage, questions over mismanagement, and demands for accountability.
Though a judicial probe and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe have been ordered, serious concerns remain about what exactly led to the deadly chaos and whether it could have been prevented.
What went wrong during RCB’s victory celebrations?
A day after RCB’s triumph on June 3, lakhs of fans thronged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and also the Vidhana Soudha where the government of Karnataka had organised a separate felicitation event for the RCB team.
However, the sheer size of the crowd — reportedly over two lakh people — quickly overwhelmed the capacity of the stadium, which can accommodate just 32,000 persons, triggering a chaotic stampede at the gates.
In the resulting chaos, 11 persons — all under the age of 40 — lost their lives, and at least 50 others sustained injuries. Medical reports confirmed that all the fatalities were caused by asphyxia, a condition resulting from a lack of oxygen.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acknowledged the massive crowd surge and has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. However, serious questions are being raised about the crowd control measures in place, and how such a catastrophic failure in planning occurred.
Why did the Vidhana Soudha event draw so much attention?
The Karnataka government’s decision to host a grand felicitation for the RCB team at Vidhana Soudha on the same day as the public celebration has come under scrutiny. From early June 4 afternoon, a sea of RCB fans had begun assembling near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, eager to catch a glimpse of their favourite players during the anticipated open-top victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium.
While the RCB team had announced the parade on its social media platforms, police claimed no formal permission had been granted.
Nevertheless, the announcement led to lakhs of supporters flooding the areas surrounding the stadium.
The situation spiralled out of control when fans, eager to be part of the celebration, rushed to the already packed stadium gates, demanding entry. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume, police personnel struggled to manage the crowd. Chaos broke out as fans jumped barricades, trampled one another, and triggered a deadly stampede, according to police.
As the tragedy unfolded outside, the event inside the stadium was hastily scaled down and brought to an early close.
Similarly, the official felicitation held earlier in the day attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, and Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was also abruptly concluded.
Notably, several family members of political leaders, government officials, and others present seemingly for photo opportunities were part of the gathering. The hurried wrap-up of both events reflected the urgency and confusion that overshadowed what was meant to be a moment of celebration.
Did poor coordination between RCB and the State Government lead to the deadly stampede?
Emerging details from police sources, and FIR on the stampede suggest that the tragic incident was largely the result of inadequate crowd-control resources and competing interests between RCB, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the State Government.
According to senior police officials, RCB’s decision to organise a victory parade despite police turning down their request, though not in writing, was a major lapse. This, coupled with the State Government’s last-minute decision to organise its own felicitation event to get a share of the spotlight, further stretched the police infrastructure.
A senior officer told The Hindu that police resources were thinly spread across four major events on the same day: RCB’s arrival at HAL airport, their transfer to the team hotel on Race Course Road, the government’s felicitation at Vidhana Soudha, and finally, the celebration at Chinnaswamy stadium.
“Most of the force had worked through the previous night due to the IPL final. Without rest, they were redeployed across the city, particularly around Vidhana Soudha and Chinnaswamy stadium, there were a lot of communication issues between the departments, RCB and KSCA,” the officer said, pointing to the exhaustion and overload faced by the personnel.
At 10.30 a.m. on June 4 (Wednesday), a media statement was released by RCB and the State Government announcing the felicitation event featuring Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Shivakumar, and others, followed by a victory parade to the stadium. This announcement is believed to have triggered the massive surge of fans that ultimately led to the stampede.
Kohli’s departure to London after stampede lends credence to theory on travel plans
Sources claimed that the city police pressed for the celebrations to be pushed to Sunday June 8, which would have given them time to prepare, but were overruled.
Sources said even suggestions for a delay of just one day was also not accepted.
Meanwhile, RCB insisted on holding the event on June 4 (Wednesday), police now claim. Police officials stated that the franchise cited the imminent departure of several foreign and Indian players as a key reason for scheduling the celebratory events the day after the final.
Adding a new dimension to the controversy, Shivamogga-based social activist H.M. Venkatesh filed a complaint naming cricketer Virat Kohli. He alleged that Mr. Kohli had pressured RCB management to push for the Wednesday June 4 parade in order to accommodate his own travel plans. Mr. Venkatesh claimed that Mr. Kohli’s immediate departure to London, following the deaths caused by the stampede, supports his allegation.
While the claims remain unverified, they have sparked public debates.
Cubbon Park police are now probing various aspects of the incident, including alleged administrative negligence and failure in crowd control.
What government told court
On June 5 (Thursday), Advocate General K.M. Shashikiran Shetty informed the High Court: “The event (at the stadium) was organised on behalf of RCB by DNA Event Management. KSCA is in charge of the stadium. All the security is provided by them in the stadium. All the deaths happened at the entry gates of the stadium.
“Around 2.5 lakh people had gathered around the stadium as against the capacity of 34,600 whereas the authorities had deployed a total of around 1,600 police officers and personnel as against usual deployment of nearly 800 police personnel during any cricket match, including the IPL tournament.”
When the court asked the government whether there was a standard operating procedure (SOP) to regulate such events, Mr. Shetty admitted that the government has no SOP to manage and control large events of this nature while assuring the court that it would come out with a SOP.
What is the aftermath of the RCB stampede incident?
The stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium not only claimed 11 lives but also triggered a political storm that has severely dented the image of the Congress government in Karnataka. Public outrage over the mishandling of the situation, especially the grand felicitation ceremony at Vidhana Soudha attended by ministers and their family members has sparked questions about the government’s priorities and planning.
Facing sharp criticism from the opposition BJP and JD(S), who labelled the event a publicity stunt gone wrong, the government was forced to take swift action.
On June 5, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara announced that the State Government would formulate a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for large-scale events, meetings, and celebrations to help prevent such untoward incidents in the future.
Later, at night, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suspended five police officials: Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, Additional Commissioner (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash, DCP (Central) Shekar H. Tekkannavar, ACP (Cubbon Park) C. Balakrishna, and Cubbon Park Police Inspector A.K. Girish.
On June 6, MLC K. Govindaraj, who was serving as the Chief Minister’s Political Secretary, was removed from the post. Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Hemant M. Nimbalkar was transferred.
Bengaluru police registered an FIR charging the RCB franchise, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and event manager DNA Network with culpable homicide, voluntarily causing hurt, and unlawful assembly.
Police arrested RCB’s marketing head and a senior executive of DNA Network.
The Chief Minister announced a judicial inquiry to be headed by retired Karnataka High Court judge Michael D’Cunha.
Published – June 07, 2025 04:45 pm IST