Bengaluru stampede: KSCA secretary and treasurer tender resignations
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) secretary, A Shankar, and treasurer, ES Jairam, announced their resignations on Saturday, three days after the tragic loss of 11 lives during the felicitation event for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after their IPL 2025 victory on Tuesday.
A day after the KSCA and RCB had approached the Karnataka High Court in connection with the First Information Reports (FIR) filed against them in connection with the stampede, the Karnataka cricket association secretary and treasurer announced their resignations through a joint statement.
'This is to inform that due to the unforeseen and unfortunate events that have unfolded in the last two days and though our role was very limited, but owing moral responsibility, we wish to state that last night we have tendered our resignation to our respective posts as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, by way of a letter dated 06.06.2025 to the President of Karnataka State Cricket Association,' the statement read.
On Thursday, the Karnataka High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident after receiving an initial briefing from Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty. The court has directed the state to submit a status report by June 10, the next date of hearing. A single-judge bench of Justice S R Krishna Kumar granted interim protection from arrest to senior KSCA officials, contingent on their cooperation with the police investigation.
Meanwhile, the Bengaluru city police on Friday arrested four people, including the RCB marketing head Nikhil Sosale, as they attempted to board a flight from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Besides Sosale, Sunil Mathew, Sumanth and Kiran Kumar of DNA Entertainment Private Limited were arrested and produced before the magistrate and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
Sosale's legal team challenged his arrest on Friday, claiming it was politically motivated and ordered by the Chief Minister without a proper investigation. However, the court denied interim relief, deciding to hear arguments from the state before making a decision.
Meanwhile, the KSCA stated in its petition that its involvement was confined to renting out the stadium and assisting with government permissions. It asserted that RCB, as the event organiser, along with law enforcement, were responsible for ticketing and crowd control.
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