Bengaluru stampede case: RCB, event management company officials among 4 arrested
Two days after the stampede in Bengaluru where people had gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning the IPL, the police Friday arrested four people, including Nikhil Sosale of RCB management and Sunil Mathew of event management company DNA at the Kempegowda International Airport. The CM has also ordered the suspension of the city's police commissioner and other officers.
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
The concentric circles of guilt in a sports-loving city
For no fault of the players, RCB's first IPL title will always be associated with death and disaster. Rajat Patidar and his boys deserved better, as did the lakhs of fans who turned up that Wednesday morning to share in the triumph. Sport is a life-affirming activity, and to die in its support goes against the natural order of things. Eleven fans died, and no amount of buck-passing will make a difference to their families and loved ones. I have lived in Bengaluru for more years than anywhere else, starting from primary school. But you don't have to be a local to feel the terrible weight of the human disaster. Especially one which with some foresight and common sense could have been avoided. A marketing opportunity for one group, a photo-op for another saw the death of innocence in a sports-loving city. Accountability usually works in a series of concentric circles. Steadily, depending on the public reaction, it moves from the outermost circle which is the least to blame and moves towards the centre. There are, of course varying degrees of guilt, starting from the outermost circle, which was quickly brought into the picture by the Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) when he said the crowds were 'uncontrollable.' This is the politician's first line of defence — the people did it. But this is not an issue likely to disappear, especially since the politicians appeared to be more keen on posing with the players than on dealing with the situation. Does the DCM deserve the benefit of the doubt when he claimed that inside the stadium he did not know about the stampede outside? No official told him? The politicians belong to the innermost circle — is the momentum of the accountability strong enough to get to them? Lack of communication Letters emerging from top police officials warning of the dangers of the lack of preparation for controlling huge crowds suggest that ultimately decisions were taken to which they were not privy. The lack of clear communication between the organisers (there is still some confusion about who these were, the government, the Karnataka State Cricket Association or RCB, or all three at different times and venues) and the public was, in the end, fatal. Crowds respond to rumours; they contain professional trouble-makers, some fuelled by drink. Many seek a shared kinship amidst unemployment and marginalisation. There is too the culture of the IPL itself, which encourages over-the-top reactions. Irrational, overplayed and illogical, it is one of sport's techniques to put 'bums on seats', as the boxer Muhammad Ali memorably put it. Or bums on couches before the television. Rivalry, individual as well as among teams, is encouraged. Remember the famous slap in the early years, when Harbhajan Singh, an India player, slapped Sreesanth, another India player? There is no such thing as bad publicity, those officials believed, but now they have overplayed their hand. 'Celebration' and rotten behaviour If cricket fans in India have become indistinguishable from football fans in Europe, the culture of the IPL has something to do with this. 'Celebration' — whether on New Year's Eve or at festivals — seems a free pass to rotten behaviour, physical abuse of women, and perhaps an outlet for many frustrations. Anonymity in a crowd is of the kind that social media guarantees, so is the entitlement. Perhaps the refusal to listen to authority or follow instructions comes from the same mindset. That, of course, ought not to stop authority, from the politicians to the police from doing their job of keeping everybody safe. Would lakhs have turned up to greet the Karnataka team had they won the Ranji Trophy? It seems that most of India's fans are not so much cricket lovers as cricketer lovers. Social media has fed into the interminable hunger for news of personalities, building the players up in the process and putting them out of reach of the everyday. But those questions will have to await another day. For the moment, it is important to sift the essential from the incidental. Senior policemen have been suspended, an RCB official faced arrest, two office-bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association have resigned. But who among the inner circle knowing the possible consequences gave the go-ahead? Check the photographs.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka high court directs CID not to seek custody of accused
1 2 Bengaluru: Karnataka high court has instructed the Criminal Investigation Department ( CID ) to refrain from approaching a lower court, seeking custody of the accused in the case of the stampede outside M Chinaswamy Stadium on June 4, until the petition filed by the accused before the high court is heard. The high court directive comes in the wake of CID sleuths probing the deadly stampede that led to 11 deaths and left 75 injured, approaching the 1st ACMM court, seeking police custody of the four accused. A joint team comprising personnel from the Central Crime Branch (CCB), and East and Central division police had arrested Nikhil Sosale, the marketing and revenue head of the RCB franchise, and three others from DNA Entertainment Ltd (an event management firm) -- its director and vice-president Sunil Mathew, ticketing official Shamanth S P, and manager Kiran Kumar. The lower court had remanded them in judicial custody. According to sources, CID sought police custody of the accused for nine days. However, the lawyers of the accused informed the court about the petition filed before the high court. The court then informed CID that it would take up their petition for hearing only after the high court issues an order. Earlier, on Tuesday, CID produced all four accused at the ACMM court, before they were taken back to the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gentle Japanese hair growth method for men and women's scalp Hair's Rich Learn More Undo Meanwhile, CID sleuths conducted a mahazar (spot inquest) in and around Chinnaswamy Stadium, visiting all the gates where the stampede occurred and collecting CCTV footage and other documents. The sleuths also took a few of the injured, including those undergoing treatment at Bowring Hospital, for the mahazar and recorded their statements.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Why is there no political accountability for Bengaluru stampede? Experts debate
The debate focusses on the lack of political accountability a week after the tragic stampede in Bengaluru. While RCB officials and event managers have been arrested, and police officers suspended, no political heads have rolled. The discussion explores the roles of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and police in granting permission for the event, despite initial denial from law enforcement. The conversation also touches on similar incidents in BJP-ruled states and questions the standards of accountability across political parties.
