Bengaluru stampede: BCCI ducks blame, CM Siddaramaiah cites Kumbh Mela and blames RCB fans, BJP targets Karnataka govt
A night of victory for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) turned into a horrific tragedy as a tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy stadium claimed 11 lives and injured 33 others during IPL victory celebrations on Wednesday. What should have been a historic celebration for RCB fans has instead become a heartbreaking episode marked by mourning and political blame games.
Soon after the news of the stampede broke out in the Congress-ruled Karnataka, chief minister Siddaramaiah expressed his deep condolences and announced ₹10 lakh compensation for victims' kin.
'This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow over this incident,' he added.
Ordering a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy with a deadline of 15 days, Siddaramaiah said the incident should not be politicised, 'Such incidents happened in many places, 50-60 people died in Kumbh Mela. I did not criticise. If the Congress criticises, that is a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?'
Karnataka CM was talking about the recent stampede at Maha Kumbh mela in BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh that claimed the lives at least 30 people.
Also read | Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka high court takes suo motu cognisance, to hear matter today
Explaining what led to the stampede at Chinaswamy stadium, he said, 'The match happened last evening (Tuesday), and today (Wednesday) this event was organised by the cricket association. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came.'
'There were over 1.5 lakh people at the gates, banging and eventually breaking through in some places. The attempt to enter the stadium resulted in the stampede.'
He added, 'There are small gates. The people entered through the gates. They have also broken the gates, so a stampede has taken place. Prima facie, it looks like that. I am not saying that nothing has happened. The inquiry will bring out facts.'
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya criticised the Congress-led state government, accusing it of turning the celebration into a political spectacle without adequate preparation.
'The stampede was completely avoidable. It was state-orchestrated,' Surya said, alleging that an open invitation by CM Siddaramaiah on social media triggered an uncontrollable flood of fans without proper crowd and security measures in place.
Also read | Bengaluru stampede: What led to deadly crush at RCB's IPL victory event?
'You cannot blame RCB, Virat Kohli, or even the fans. If there is anyone responsible, it is the CM and the deputy CM who wanted to hog undeserving limelight and made this an entire family function of the Congress leaders.'
He questioned the value of the magisterial inquiry, 'Keep this 15-day report yourself in your house. Who cares? Will this 15-day magisterial report help these families?'
Surya also appealed to the RCB management: 'It is the moral responsibility of RCB to also generously compensate the victims of this stampede. RCB and RCB's superstar cricketers have made hundreds of crores from the love of fans... now it is time for RCB to also be in terms of distress and challenge with the fans and their families.'
Union minister HD Kumaraswamy blamed deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar directly. 'The person responsible for this tragedy must be immediately sacked from the cabinet,' he declared from New Delhi.
Slamming the Congress-led administration, Kumaraswamy said, 'We have a Chief Minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the Deputy CM... The Congress government is being run by arrogant fools.'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, meanwhile, denied any role in organising the event. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said, 'We had no information that such an event was being planned... If such events are planned in the future, then proper arrangements should be made.'
"We express condolences to the families of the deceased. A title win was to be celebrated; rather, the loss of lives is being mourned," Dhumal added.
Rejecting accusations, he asked, 'How can we be held responsible? Have you seen any IPL officials at the gate, managing the crowd?'
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia added, 'There were some lapses. The BCCI has no role in it. But it's a lesson to learn.'
The Bengaluru police conceded that they were overwhelmed. 'The crowd was beyond our control,' a senior officer told HT on condition of anonymity.
Police said around 50,000 people packed a one-kilometre radius near the stadium. Narrow gates and mass pressure triggered the deadly crush. 'We had to resort to a lathi charge at some points... the pressure of the crowd caused the tragedy,' said the officer.
Fans had started gathering as early as afternoon, climbing trees, scaling cars and walls, and screaming 'RCB! RCB!' in desperation for a glimpse of the players. While some had tickets, others with free passes reportedly forced their way in, contributing to the chaos.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar promised a detailed probe and claimed, 'We want to know the facts and give a clear message.'
He also countered the BJP's attack, 'BJP is doing politics... We are very sorry for the incident. We will work out a better solution in the future.' The state cancelled all government events, including World Environment Day celebrations, in a show of mourning.
Reiterating Siddaramaiah's sentiments, he said, 'We never expected such a big crowd. The stadium's capacity is 35,000, but over 3 lakh people were there. Gates have been broken. We apologise for this incident.'
However, he defended the police force's efforts, saying, 'I should compliment my Police officers... they guided us not to bring a vehicle procession from the airport... we were very cautious at Vidhana Soudha too.'
The tragedy unfolded rapidly on Wednesday afternoon as thousands of RCB fans thronged the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the team's IPL victory celebration.
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