In the Bengaluru stampede case, it has emerged that the Karnataka State cricket Association (KSCA) had written to the Karnataka government on 3rd June, asking for a felicitation ceremony for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team at the Vidhana Soudha.
The KSCA letter addressed to the secretary of the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (DPAR), informed the government that in case RCB wins the final match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), DNA Entertainment Network, an event management firm, would plan a felicitation ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha Grand Steps.
“On behalf of the M/s. DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited, KSCA requests to inform that after the TATA IPL 2025 Finals on 3rd June 2025, in case Royal Challengers Bengaluru wins the IPL 2025 title, M/s. DNA Entertainment Networks shall make plans for the felicitation ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha Grand Steps,” the letter signed by KSCA’s Chief Executive Officer Shubhendu Ghosh stated.
The letter further mentions about the guest list which included Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
“This is also to inform that the Honourable Chief Minister and the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister shall be gracing the occasion & felicitating the RCB Players & Support Staff (sic),” the KSCA letter stated, adding that the Association would extend full cooperation to the authorities.
This letter was received by the government by 7:30 pm on 3rd June, which essentially means that the government was fully aware that massive celebrations would happen if RCB wins its maiden IPL title.
KSCA, RCB and the Karnataka government announced celebrations even as Bengaluru Police denied permission: Clout chasing trumped public safety?
As reported earlier, the Bengaluru Police have filed a case against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Karnataka State Cricket Association, and DNA Entertainment over the stampede on Wednesday, June 4, that killed 11 and left 56 injured.
As per the FIR filed by Cubbon Police Inspector, the police was under strain after a massive crowd gathered at the MG Road, Church Street, UB City, and Vittal Mallya Road late on 3rd June to celebrate RCB’s victory over Punjab Kings. All the police officers from Cubbon Park Police Station and the sub-division were on duty till 5:30 AM the next morning.
However, regardless of the mounting pressure on the local police to handle the swelling crowd on 3rd June, KSCA CEO Shubhendu Ghosh reached the police station to obtain permission for holding a grand celebration at the stadium the following evening, as per the FIR. The police, however, denied the request, citing possible overcrowding and requirement of time to ensure safety arrangements.
“It was clearly conveyed to KSCA that holding an event on 4 June could lead to massive crowding, disrupt public movement, and pose serious safety challenges. Permission was denied,” the FIR states.
Despite the police’s denial of permission, the organisers allegedly pushed ahead regardless.
OpIndia pointed out earlier that the Bengaluru traffic police had posted on X saying that no victory parade will take place. However, after RCB franchise’s official handle posted that the parade will indeed take place, the Bengaluru traffic police deleted its post.
The RCB on the team’s social media pages on Wednesday (4th June), posted that the victory parade will take place at 5 pm and also announced limited free passes. This came hours after the Bengaluru Police had stated that no such parade will take place due to security reasons. The local police also denied permission for an open-top bus parade.
Now the FIR is also reported to have mentioned that RCB’s official handles began announcing victory parades and celebrations, inviting fans to the Chinnaswamy stadium. These posts, however, were published without any official clearance. Since emotions were running high among RCB fans and their passion to get glimpse of their cricket icons, around 2 to 3 lakh people gathered outside the stadium, which has capacity of only 32,000.
“RCB, DNA Networks, and KSCA went ahead with the event despite being denied permission. They failed to plan fan entry, gave misleading information about passes, and let misinformation circulate on social media, prompting lakhs to gather,” the FIR adds.
The complaint has been filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Section 125(12) (acts endangering life or personal safety of others), Section 142 (unlawful assembly), Section 121 (abetment of an offence), and Section 190 (liability of members of an unlawful assembly for offences committed in pursuit of a common object).
As per reports, the RCB management exerted pressure on Karnataka’s political leadership to hold immediate victory celebrations on 4th June even as the police sought time make proper plans for crowd management and then organise the event. The police wanted time to carry out mock assessment before holding such a big event, however, the RCB management and the government remained indifferent.
The police officials were already handling crowd on 3rd June and were exhausted due to continuous duty, they deserved a break and some time to regain their strength, make proper plans for crowd management and then the celebrations should have been organised. By then, the emotions of RCB fans would also have settled, however, RCB’s insensitivity, Congress government’s desperation to gain political mileage and restlessness of fans took centre stage and public safety.
So far, four people, including the Head of Marketing And Revenue of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, have been arrested in this case.
The police wanted the celebratory event to be organised after a week, however, the RCB management did not heed their advice and exerted political pressure to make sure that immediate celebrations are held.
“RCB chairman is the main guy responsible for the fiasco. Home Minister (G Parameshwara) also agreed with our assessment. He was over ruled. There was no time to plan,” a police source told TimesNow.
“Whole night till 4 every cop was busy. How can you prepare something by afternoon? For such a big event, we carry out a mock assessment. However, we did not get time to do it this time. Had we gone a day or two, we would have prevented it,” the police source added.
In a face saving move, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah announced that several top officials including Bengaluru Commissioner of Police has been suspended. T he CM said that the Commissioner of Police, Additional Commissioner of Police, and DCP of the central division and the Cricket Stadium in-charge have been suspended. Along with them, the Police Inspector, Station House Master and Station House Officer of Cubbon Park Police Station have also been suspended.
The Congress government’s attempt at shifting the blame on police to evade accountability has sparked criticism. Former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao called the move “the darkest day in the history of Karnataka Police” adding that the Karnataka government is acting in “panic mode”.
Even as the news of a stampede broke on Wednesday, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar arrived at the stadium for celebrations and said how he is very proud of RCB and Karnataka and Kohli’s loyalty has paid royalty.
Inside the stadium, celebrations were going on, with Karnataka CM and deputy CM and RCB players and management rejoicing, all while the fans of the same team were dying, enduring injuries and battling to come out alive. While it is being said that people inside the stadium were largely unaware of what tragedy unfolded outside the stadium, however, it is impossible that the state’s chief minister and deputy chief minister, who are responsible for ensuring the safety of their people, especially during such massive events, were unaware of the stampede.
While the police was repeatedly denying permission for the event and seeking a later date for the same, deputy CM posted on X giving out open invitation to everyone to join the celebrations of RCB’s victory despite knowing the fact that the fan frenzy was uncontrollable. The Congress government hastened the celebrations even as there was a lack of adequate security and crowd management arrangements.
Despite knowing the popularity of RCB in Bengaluru and the significance of the franchise’s first IPL title, the state government grossly underestimated the turnout or perhaps they were not much concerned about the possibility of a stampede-like situation as they were engrossed in encashing the triumphant moment.
The Congress government was very well aware of the kind of crowd that would turn up if RCB wins and an immediate celebration is organised in the city. As more and more details emerge, it is becoming clearer that the government made a huge blunder by allowing immediate celebrations that transformed a moment of joy into a gut-wrenching tragedy.
Reports say that around 5,000 police personnel were deployed, however, this number was woefully inadequate for a crowd of lakhs in such a small place. There was a lack of proper barricades, entry protocols, and crowd dispersal strategies leading fans who were already running high on emotions to breach gates, climb over barriers. Meanwhile, the collapse of a temporary slap over a drain under the weight of the crowd near the stadium also contributed to escalating panic.
Besides, rumours of free tickets being distributed at the main entrance became nothing less than a death trap as massive crowd turned over to claim their free tickets even though there no such official announcement.
While the stampede unfolded outside Chinnaswamy stadium, the state’s Chief Minister, Deputy CM and other leaders appeared disconnected from the crisis. Their celebratory mood persisted even as the reports of the stampede emerged, with the event inside the stadium continuing as if nothing tragic happened at all. A lap of honour and brief speeches continued for about 30 minutes and eventually the program was abruptly halted.
