‘You can imagine the crowd': Over 9 lakh took the Metro till 11pm on Bengaluru stampede day

Time of India

a day ago

Bengaluru stampede
NEW DELHI: A day after the deadly stampede during RCB's IPL victory parade that killed 11 people and left at least 70 injured, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Thursday announced that the government would formulate a fresh Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all mega public events and celebrations in the state.
The move comes amid massive public outrage and mounting questions over lapses in planning and crowd control outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where thousands had gathered to catch a glimpse of the RCB team that clinched its maiden IPL title.
"According to information from Bangalore Metro, Over 8 lakh people travelled till 11pm on Wednesday. You can imagine how much crowd had come," Parameshwara told reporters, highlighting the unprecedented turnout that overwhelmed the stadium's 30,000 capacity.
Metro records support the claim — Namma Metro recorded its highest-ever single-day ridership on June 4, with 9,66,732 passengers, nearly triple the usual footfall, said a BMRCL release.
Purple Line carried 4.78 lakh passengers, Green Line saw 2.84 lakh, and the Majestic interchange alone handled over 2 lakh commuters. Overcrowding led to temporary shutdowns of Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, and MG Road stations in the evening.
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Calling the incident a tragic first in the state's cricketing history, Parameshwara said a new SOP would be created under the home department, mandating all future mega events to follow police-sanctioned crowd control frameworks.
"Such deaths shouldn't happen. Innocents should not die. Many victims were youngsters, aged between 20 and 25, who came to celebrate. They wouldn't have expected to lose their lives,' he said.
'It pains anyone to look at the dead bodies.'
Inquiry ordered, lapses to be fixed
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a magisterial inquiry led by the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner. 'If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against whoever is responsible,' Parameshwara said.
So far, 46 of the injured have been discharged from hospitals while 10 remain admitted, though their condition is not serious, according to doctors.
The minister refused to speculate on accountability ahead of the inquiry but said responsibilities would be fixed after identifying the lapses.
When asked about the FIR not being filed, Parameshwara said he would discuss the matter with the Police Commissioner and the DGP.
Ignored warnings?
Asked if senior officials had advised against hosting the felicitation event in such haste, Parameshwara said,
'There are such claims, let's see who said what and when.'
He admitted the RCB team's arrival created a celebratory frenzy across the city. 'There were celebrations all through Tuesday night. By morning, the mood for another celebration had set in.'
'No one expected three lakh people to come against the stadium's capacity of just 30,000,' he said.
The minister said he would visit the incident site and also hold meetings with RCB officials and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to discuss future precautions.
At the Vidhana Soudha, where a separate RCB felicitation was held, no major incident occurred, though Parameshwara admitted that some crowd mismanagement happened and 'sticks were reportedly thrown at the media for obstructing the view'.
A new SOP, he reiterated, will ensure tragedies like this are never repeated.