Killer factors behind the avoidable Bengaluru stampede. Explained in 5 points

India Today

05-06-2025

Tens of thousands, if not lakhs, gathered within a kilometre radius of Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium to celebrate the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first-ever IPL title. Hours later, the joyous frenzy turned tragic, with 11 lives lost in a stampede that followed.But hours before the chaos unfolded into a stampede, there were already signs -- visible, recognisable, avoidable and actionable -- that were ignored.advertisementAround 50 people have been left injured in the melee.
A day later, it's the usual blame game and politics that has started around the tragedy in a country that has seen stampedes at regular intervals. Like in the case of the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station in February, in which five red flags were missed, the RCB victory celebration too presented some warning signs.Addressing or even acknowledging these might have averted the tragedy that followed.1. RCB'S VICTORY PARADE TWEETTo start with, the RCB's social media posts fuelled anticipation of a grand victory parade.At 3:14 pm on Wednesday, RCB's official X account announced, "RCB Victory Parade. Today at 5 pm IST. Victory Parade will be followed by celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium," it posted, urging fans to follow police guidelines.advertisementThe post, promoting an open-top bus parade from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, drew massive crowds despite the Bengaluru traffic police's earlier announcement at 11:56 am that no parade was planned due to security concerns, according to a report in The Indian Express.The conflicting messages created confusion, with fans converging in large numbers, many unaware the parade was cancelled. The RCB's promotion of the event, despite police directives, fuelled the crowd surge, turning the mass gathering into a nightmare.2. FREE PASSES, LIMITED ENTRYThe RCB, in the X post at 3:14, also announced limited free passes for the stadium event, available online, which led to a rush for access."Free passes (limited entry) available on http://shop (dot) royalchallengers (dot)com," the RCB added in the post.Initially, passes were issued, but the authorities later declared free entry for all. What followed was a massive crowd surging toward the gates of the stadium.Fans, both with and without passes, attempted to enter, overwhelming the limited entry points.Eyewitness Nikhil Naz, consulting editor of Sports Today, India Today Digital's sister portal, described young fans, including girls and teenage boys, being trampled in the melee due to inadequate security at the gates.The promise of free entry, without robust crowd management, created a bottleneck that turned fatal.3. COPS INSISTED ON SUNDAY BUT STATE GOVT DIDN'T RELENTadvertisementDespite Bengaluru Police advising the Karnataka government to hold the RCB celebration on a Sunday to avoid traffic and allow better security preparation, the event was rushed through within 24 hours of the IPL final.Cops were exhausted from overnight crowd control during the celebrations after the victory on Tuesday night and must have had little time to plan and coordinate.Senior Bengaluru Police officers said their warning against holding the RCB celebrations at short notice, and their call for a week's delay, were overlooked, the Deccan Herald reported early on Wednesday.Ignoring warnings, the government allegedly pushed ahead, leading to chaos, understaffing, poor barricading, and a deadly stampede that claimed 11 lives.Political leaders of the state must have wanted to cash in on the peak celebratory mood. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar claimed that 5,000 police personnel were deployed for the RCB celebration, calling the crowd "uncontrollable." However, this was later contradicted by the state's Advocate General, Shashi Kiran Shetty, who admitted in court that just over 1,000 personnel had actually been deployed.Former Bengaluru police chief Bhaskar Rao criticised the "unplanned, hurried, disorganised celebrations", saying "As former city top cop, I would have told the CM to postpone the victory march and felicitations. Yesterday [Tuesday] night's crowd frenzy was enough warning to allow emotions to calm down".advertisement4. STADIUM CAPACITY OF 35,000 BUT CROWD OF 2-3 LAKHThe Chinnaswamy Stadium's capacity is approximately 35,000, but 2-3 lakh fans gathered, with 1 lakh near Vidhana Soudha alone, where the celebrations had initially started.Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah admitted, "We did not anticipate this kind of crowd", which reveals that the event was organised hastily after the Tuesday night final.The overwhelming turnout of fans, far exceeding expectations, exposed poor planning by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and RCB. The mismatch between the venue's capacity and the crowd size created the dangerous pressure-cooker situation. 5. EXIT GATES AT CHINNASWAMY: A CRUCIAL FACTORThe stampede occurred primarily at three gates (Gates 3, 12, and 18), where fans pushed to enter or climb barriers. The narrow passageways and a collapsed temporary slab over a drain near the stadium triggered panic, leading to asphyxia-related deaths.Thirteen-year-old Divyanshi, who had travelled from Andhra Pradesh to Bengaluru just to catch a glimpse of her favourite Virat Kohli, died of suffocation and a head injury near one of the entrance gates.advertisementAn eyewitness told news agency PTI that chaos erupted when a crowd of nearly 600 to 700 people, mostly women, forced open a gate and tried to rush in at once."Information was spread that the team's roadshow had been cancelled and called on everyone to gather at the stadium, and many women had come without any tickets... The police tried to stop the women, but they did not listen and tried to climb the gates. Around 600-700 broke open the gates and at a time tried to enter. This led to a stampede. Many victims were women. Although I tried to help, I couldn't because of the crowd and chaos," the unnamed eyewitness told PTI.Doctors confirmed that all the victims died due to asphyxia, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen, which leads to unconsciousness and, ultimately, death, reported The Hindu.Although Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty told the High Court that all 21 gates were open, the counsel for the petitioner said, "Only three gates of the stadium were opened, without there being capacity to accommodate so many people", according to a report in Live Law.advertisementThe Karnataka High Court was informed by the Advocate General that all 11 deaths and the injuries to 66 people occurred at just three gates, indicating poor crowd management at entry and exit points.In conclusion, the Bengaluru stampede was a tragedy born of a combination of miscommunication, inadequate planning, and underestimation of fan turnout. The RCB's premature social media announcements, poorly managed entry rules, insufficient police preparedness, a massive crowd overwhelming the stadium's capacity, and inadequate gate management created the storm. The Karnataka government has ordered a magisterial enquiry, and both the RCB and the KSCA have announced financial aid for victims' families. But if lessons aren't learnt, such tragedies will recur.Must Watch