Who is responsible for the Bengaluru stampede? RCB, Karnataka govt or both?

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2 days ago

The victory celebrations of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Wednesday turned tragic when 11 people, who had gathered to celebrate at the team's maiden IPL trophy outside the Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium in Karnataka's capital, died in a stampede. But why did Bengaluru agree to host the celebrations if it was unprepared? Did RCB heed to advice? read more
People rummage through footwear strewn outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after a stampede caused by frenzied fans celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru's victory in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, in Bengaluru, June 4, 2025. AP
It took 18 years for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title. As Virat Kohli and the team lifted the RCB's maiden trophy, thousands of emotional fans gathered on Bengaluru streets to celebrate the much-awaited victory.
To mark RCB's triumph, a victory march was organised on Wednesday (June 4) near the M Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium in Bengaluru. However, tragedy struck as a stampede occurred as lakhs of people gathered outside the stadium to celebrate the team's first IPL trophy. Eleven people died and over 40 others were injured in the crush.
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The tragic incident has raised questions about the preparations for the event and the management of the crowd.
Who is to blame? Why was the victory march organised on Wednesday itself? We will take a look.
Why was RCB event organised?
The Karnataka government has put the blame on the RCB and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for organising the victory celebrations even after the police suggested deferring the event.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara told the media on Thursday (June 5): '[The] Chief Minister has already said there would be a magisterial inquiry into the incident. The RCB and the cricket association (KSCA) wanted this ceremony and we said we would facilitate.'
Addressing a press conference a day before, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government did not expect such a huge crowd to turn up.
Condoling the deaths, he said the 'pain of this tragedy has also erased the joy of victory.'
'The crowd turnout exceeded all expectations. Over one lakh people gathered in front of Vidhana Soudha, but no untoward incident occurred at that venue. However, the tragedy occurred at Chinnaswamy Stadium.'
'No one anticipated this – neither the cricket association nor the government. The stadium has a seating capacity of 35,000, but an estimated two to three lakh people turned up. We did not expect such a massive turnout; we had only anticipated a crowd equal to the stadium's capacity,' the CM said.
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He also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the victims killed in the stampede. Siddaramaiah further added that the government would provide free treatment to the injured.
Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who received the RCB team at the Bengaluru airport, apologised for the stampede and reiterated the CM's statement that they did not expect 'such a big crowd'.
'We had arranged more than 5,000 personnel," Shivakumar reportedly said, pointing out that 'lakhs of people came… The programme had ended within 10 minutes. We are trying to make everything normal… This is a young, vibrant crowd, we can't use lathi," he said.
As per a Deccan Herald (DH) report, RCB, KSCA and the Karnataka government turned a deaf ear to the police's advice to postpone the victory celebrations.
'We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,' DH quoted a senior police officer as saying.
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'We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there,' the officer added.
At 3.15 pm, the RCB's team management posted on X that a victory parade will be held from Vidhana Soudha to the Chinnaswamy Stadium at 5 pm. They also shared a link for free passes.
Screenshot of RCB's post on X
This came despite the officials saying at 1 PM that the parade was cancelled due to traffic congestion. They stated the RCB players would meet the chief minister at Vidhana Soudha and then proceed to the stadium.
The IPL had to be postponed by more than a week due to the conflict between India and Pakistan. Reports say the franchise argued that they would not have international players for the event if the celebrations were deferred.
Both the state government and the RCB management wanted to hold the celebrations on Wednesday itself. 'Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow,' the officer told DH.
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'Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of it. If the government had refused, that would have led to another kind of chaos,' he added.
BCCI, IPL respond
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has admitted to 'lapses' on the part of the organisers for the Bengaluru stampede .
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told NDTV, 'I think some lapses definitely took place. I am sure the authorities having this responsibility in Bengaluru, they will do some soul searching to find out. Definitely, nobody should be allowed to go scot-free for any lapses on their part."
He said such events require exhaustive planning and cited the example of the victory march in Mumbai last year when a sea of crowd emerged to celebrate India's win of the T20 World Cup.
Saikia said there was a 'thorough planning with the local cricket association — that is the Mumbai Cricket Association — as well as the Mumbai authorities, which includes the police, the fire brigade, the disaster management authorities. When planning that magnitude of celebration in Mumbai, when there was a sea of humanity, where so many people gathered, everything happened smoothly. Not a single untoward incident occurred because all the protocols were duly followed.'
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IPL chairman shirked any responsibility for the stampede, arguing that the league ended on Tuesday night. IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal told India Today, 'For the BCCI, the IPL concluded last night. We had no knowledge of such an incident occurring, so how can we be held responsible for it?'
'How can we be held responsible for something like this? It is indeed a very tragic incident, and we extend our deepest condolences. But we cannot be held accountable for something over which we had no control,' he added.
BJP targets Congress govt
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come out with all guns blazing at the Congress.
Senior BJP leader R Ashoka has demanded the resignation of CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM Shivakumar for the stampede.
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Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra Yediyurappa held Siddaramaiah and his deputy responsible for the tragedy, alleging the Congress government was more interested in 'publicity stunts' than people's safety.
'Was it not the responsibility of the state government to be prepared for this? More than 11 lives are lost. The chief minister should answer for this,' he told NDTV.
'This is not the first time. In the last [T20] World Cup, more than a lakh people were there. The state government managed the crowd. The state government was aware more than a lakh will turn up [today], should they have not been prepared?' he asked. 'Unfortunately, the state government was more interested in publicity than people's safety.'
With inputs from agencies