RCB Face Severe Criticism For 'Pure Love' Post Amid Bengaluru Stampede That Killed 11; Forced To Delete

NDTV

6 days ago

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s IPL 2025 title-winning celebrations had to be shortened as multiple deaths occurred outside their home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, following a stampede on Wednesday afternoon. At least 11 people died and another 50 were injured after the incidents. While an official statement from RCB addressing the incident came hours later, the franchise put up another post in between, which they were forced to delete after receiving severe criticism. The post was a video of fans greeting the team during the celebrations.
"This welcome is what pure love looks like," was how the post, made on X, was captioned.
However, given the incidents that had taken place, and the lack of any response addressing it from the franchise itself up to that point, RCB received a lot of criticism for the post.
Fans on social media raised concern regarding the insensitivity of the post, and soon after, it was deleted by the RCB social media handle.
On Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited the Bowring hospital.
The stampede took place when thousands of fans attempted to enter the stadium in a hurry from various gates. Police at the scene transported the injured to ambulances and shifted them to the nearby Bowring Hospital.
Police stated that the ambulances were unable to move quickly to the hospital due to the overcrowding on the roads.
In a separate incident, one fan, while climbing a gate to jump into the stadium, fell and broke his leg.
Despite the presence of numerous police personnel, they are struggling to control the massive crowd. People are seen climbing trees and sitting on branches to catch a glimpse of the celebration. More details regarding the incident are yet to emerge.
The government of Karnataka had earlier cancelled the victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium, citing security reasons.
Police stated that they have been controlling the celebrating crowds since Tuesday night. Throughout the night, forces have been engaged in managing them and ensuring no untoward incidents occurred.
A huge number of crowds have also thronged the Vidhana Soudha premises to witness the felicitation program by the government. Police had to resort to a mild cane-charge to control the crowd.
Earlier, when the RCB team arrived at the HAL airport here on Wednesday, they were personally welcomed by Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.