2 days ago
11 caught in crush die amid celebrations over RCB title
A mega celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) maiden IPL title turned into a tragedy after 11 people were crushed to death and another 47 injured outside the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday evening, raising serious questions about police preparedness and organisational planning.
Hundreds of thousands of people thronged the stadium since the afternoon, hoping to catch a glimpse of their cricket heroes who had won their first IPL trophy the previous night. As crowds swelled ahead of the 6pm event, the police closed all gates, even as fans climbed over cars and climbed trees, triggering the crush between 3.30 pm to 5pm.
'The crowd was beyond our control. Even though we had deployed force, it was too much. We had to resort to lathi charge at some points. The problem was the stadium gates were narrow, and the pressure of the crowd caused the tragedy,' said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.
Rakesh Prakash, a software engineer who was among those trying to get in, said, 'In the morning, we were told that passes could be purchased. Later, we were told they were being distributed at the stadium. So like me, many landed up here hoping to get a pass.'
In a post on X ahead of the event, RCB asked fans to follow instructions by the administration and police, while announcing limited entry free tickets on its website.
Among the dead were a software engineer, a 14-year-old girl and an engineering student. Many of the dead were young people, said chief minister Siddaramaiah.
'The Karnataka state cricket association had organised a programme for the victory celebration (at the stadium), there was also a programme from the government (at Vidhana Soudha). At the Chinnaswamy stadium, a big tragedy happened. Due to the stampede, 11 people have died and 33 have suffered 14 people have taken treatment at an outpatient facility. Such an incident should never have happened, and the government deeply regrets it,' he said.
'No one expected such a huge crowd…The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came,' he added. '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.'
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said the crowd was 'absolutely uncontrollable'.
Even as people were taken to hospitals and news of the tragedy trickled in, the organisers of the felicitation ceremony pressed on with the event inside the stadium; the team's social media account posted a video of cheering crowds as the bus full of the players —including Virat Kohli —waved back. But IPL chairman Arun Dhumal later clarified that the stadium officials didn't know about the stampede until later.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which manages the stadium, said it was saddened. RCB-KSCA announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh and the government ₹10 lakh.
KSCA said in its statement that the event was organised by RCB. 'Immediately upon being made aware of the situation, we promptly amended our program, and followed the guidance and advice of the local administration,' RCB said in a statement.
But questions lingered about the lack of preparedness and lax security arrangements for what was expected to be a blockbuster and emotional event.
'The crowd swelled to thousands near Gate 3 and surged forward. Many fell to the ground and were trampled. There were very few police around, and despite announcements asking people to go home and watch the event on TV, no one listened,' said Sathish Bhat, a civil engineer from Hennur, who had arrived around 5pm to attend the ceremony.
SN Siddaraju, a bakery worker from Vijayanagara, said, 'Several individuals were found unconscious and were being given CPR by bystanders. Police faced immense challenges in controlling the crowd. Even they became helpless at one stage.'
At Vydehi Hospital, resident medical officer Humera Sayeeda confirmed that four people were brought dead. 'Twelve others have sustained minor injuries and are being treated. Among the deceased, three are male and one is female. The cause appears to be suffocation,' she said. Seven deaths were reported at Bowring Hospital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the stampede as 'absolutely heartrending'. 'In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those who are injured have a speedy recovery,' Modi said on X.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the turn of events was shocking. 'This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better,' BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said.
The BJP blamed the Congress government, calling the incident a result of administrative failure. Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra said, 'The stampede scenes during RCB's victory celebrations are not just tragic, they are a damning indictment of the Congress government. This happened because of mismanagement.'
In response, Siddaramaiah said, 'I do not want to play politics in this case. I don't want to play politics. That is why even though there was an unexpected crowd, we have ordered a magisterial probe. I will give 15 days time for this report'
The day had begun on a cheery note after RCB broke an 18-year-long jinx to win their first IPL title on Tuesday night, defeating Punjab Kings by 6 runs. The team landed at the HAL airport at 2.35pm, and were received by Shivakumar. The first felicitation ceremony was organised by the state government at the Vidhana Soudha around 4.30pm.
'In front of Vidhana Soudha, nearly one lakh people gathered, but no such incident occurred as there was enough open space. At the stadium, the gates were too small. We assumed a slightly larger crowd than the stadium's capacity, but two to three lakh people showed up,' said the police officer cited above.
A plan to hold a roadshow between the Vidhana Soudha and the stadium – a distance of 1.5km – was nixed by the Bengaluru Police earlier in the day, citing security concerns.
Television visuals showed police rushing away from crowds carrying young children in their arms, who had seemingly fainted. Others were stretched out on the ground and emergency personnel carried people into ambulances, while celebrations inside the stadium continued.
