‘RCB Organised Event, We Only Facilitated’: Karnataka Minister on Bengaluru Stampede That Killed 11
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday clarified that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) organized their victory celebration independently, with the state government only facilitating the event after the cricket franchise brought their team to the city. His statement came a day after 11 people died and over 47 were injured in a stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium during RCB’s IPL championship celebrations.
Parameshwara emphasized that the government did not request RCB or the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to organize the event, distancing the state administration from direct responsibility for the tragedy. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a magisterial inquiry to investigate the incident and identify any lapses in organization.
“We did not request the RCB or the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), they organised it (the victory celebration),” Parameshwara stated. “They are the ones who brought the team to Bengaluru. The government also felt it should facilitate this, as it was the Bengaluru team.”
The Home Minister described the government’s involvement as purely supportive, saying: “We, as the government, only participated in this event, and I feel very sorry that this incident happened.”
Expressing his grief over the casualties, Parameshwara said: “I was very sad looking at the dead bodies, most of them were youngsters. Nobody would have thought, we would take strict action and find where the lapses happened.”
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a comprehensive magisterial inquiry into the stampede incident. “Let the report be out so that action can be taken if any lapses are found and whoever is responsible for the same,” Parameshwara announced.
The inquiry will examine the circumstances leading to the tragedy and determine accountability for any organizational failures that contributed to the deaths and injuries.
According to police sources quoted by news agency PTI, several factors contributed to the deadly stampede:
- Confusion over the victory parade arrangements
- Distribution of free passes leading to overcrowding
- Limited seating capacity at the stadium versus massive crowd turnout
- Lack of proper crowd management protocols
The initial chaos began when cricket enthusiasts without entry tickets attempted to storm the stadium premises alongside those with valid passes. During the ensuing confusion, several people fell to the ground and others were injured while trying to scale gates to gain unauthorized entry.
The stampede occurred on Wednesday evening during RCB’s victory celebration at Chinnaswamy Stadium. The franchise was celebrating their first IPL title win in 18 years, which had drawn unprecedented crowds to the venue.
The celebratory event was cut short to just 20 minutes after organizers were informed of the unfolding crisis outside the stadium. Over two lakh supporters had gathered at a venue with a capacity of only 35,000.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each family that lost a loved one in the tragedy.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia acknowledged there were lapses in organization while clarifying that the cricket board was not directly responsible for the event’s arrangements.
