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Bengaluru Police were not in favour of the felicitation ceremony for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Vidhana Soudha
Footwear outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium following a stampede after a large number of fans gathered for the felicitation of IPL 2025 winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru team. (PTI)
Stampede in Chinnaswamy Stadium Bengaluru: Bengaluru Police were not in favour of the felicitation ceremony for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Vidhana Soudha, communication between the Siddaramaiah government and the Karnataka State Cricket Association accessed by CNN-News18 has revealed.
The victory celebrations for RCB, which lifted the IPL trophy after 18 years, turned tragic on Wednesday as 11 people were killed in a stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium near the Vidhan Soudha.
The chaos erupted with RCB announcing the victory parade in a social media post on Wednesday morning. What ensued was utter chaos—uncertainty over the parade’s status, conflicting information about ticket requirements, poor communication, multiple reschedulings, and finally the tragedy.
As Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah began the first round of felicitation for the team on the steps of the Vidhan Soudha, authorities seemed unaware of the trouble brewing nearby as a sea of humanity swelled outside the stadium.
The latest communication shows that the RCB celebration at Vidhana Soudha was planned much before the finals on June 3, busting the government’s claim that all the events were planned at the last minute.
On June 3, KSCA wrote to DPAR, seeking permission to hold a felicitation event on the grand steps of the Vidhan Soudha if RCB wins the IPL. DPAR then wrote to the police, seeking their opinion on the proposal. However, sources in the police department said the cops were not in favour of allowing the Vidhana Soudha event.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah had said “no one expected such a huge crowd”. “The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but nearly three lakh people came,” he said, adding that people had gathered at the Vidhan Soudha too but no injuries or casualties were reported.
The chief minister blamed the Karnataka Cricket Association, which had organised the event, saying: “We did not organise the event, the cricket association did. Our duty was to provide security. The crowd turnout should have been equal to the number of passes given. What can we do if more people come? Let’s see what the investigation finds, whether (lapses by) association or police,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar apologised for overcrowding at the venue and said they had made all efforts, including keeping the programme short. “We had arranged more than 5,000 personnel,” he 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.
Videos from the venue showed fans panicking, gasping for air, and trying to save not just themselves but others in the crowd.
Eleven FIRs have been registered over unnatural deaths, while the Karnataka government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased. Siddaramaiah also said the government would also provide free treatment to the injured.
Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India’s space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi…Read More
Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India’s space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi… Read More
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