On Bengaluru stampede, Karnataka high court asks 9 key questions from state govt
As the controversy and probe around the June 4 tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium intensified, the Karnataka High Court reportedly demanded answers to nine key questions from the state government.
The court's intervention follows a suo motu writ petition filed in response to the shocking incident, and it asked the Karnataka government to file its replies to the High Court by June 10 on the matter.
Also Read | Bengaluru stampede case goes to CID as BJP leader alleges Karnataka CM has 'blood on hands'
The Karnataka high court bench, comprising acting chief justice V Kameswar Rao and justice CM Joshi, demanded answers to nine key questions from the state government, according to the PTI news agency.
Apart from the questions about the event, the bench also questioned the existence of a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage gatherings of over 50,000 people for sporting events and public celebrations of this scale.
The stampede occurred on June 4 in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations. 11 people died and 56 were injured in the incident.
Also Read | Bengaluru stampede: What led to deadly crush at RCB's IPL victory event?
In the aftermath of the incident, the state government suspended five senior police officials, including Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda.
The suspensions came after high-level deliberations involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior cabinet ministers, Legal Advisor AS Ponnana, and Advocate General K M Shashikiran Shetty.
Also Read | Top RCB official, 3 others held in Bengaluru stampede case sent to judicial custody
Political and official sources indicated that these tough questions and the judicial scrutiny may have triggered the state government's decision to suspend five senior police officers, including Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda.
(with PTI inputs)
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