After a deadly stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL win celebrations killed eleven people, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declared Thursday that the Bengaluru Police Commissioner and other senior police officers will be immediately suspended.
When the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) held a special felicitation ceremony to commemorate the RCB players after the team won their first IPL championship after eighteen years, eleven persons were killed and forty-seven injured in the stampede near the stadium on Wednesday.
The Additional Commissioner of Police, cricket stadium in-charge, ACP, central DCP, station house officer, police housemaster, and Cubbon Park police station in-charge were all suspended immediately after the stampede, Siddaramaiah said at a press conference following a Cabinet meeting today.
He added that following the disaster, he gave the Karnataka DGP and IGP instructions to detain the RCB representative, DNA event managers, and KSCA members right away. “This was an unprecedented incident in which 11 lives were lost and over 37 injured. Free treatment is being given for all the injured,” he said.
Siddaramaiah added that his government intended to form a committee to look into the disaster and had turned over the investigation to the Crime Investigation Department (CID). “Under the able guidance of retired High Court judge John Michael D’Cunha, we plan to appoint a one-man commission. We decided in the Cabinet that we have taken the decision to arrest representatives of organisations involved due to their negligence,” he said.
A temporary slab that was erected over a drain close to the stadium grounds fell under the weight of people standing on it, according to initial information given to the state government, sources said. The sudden collapse caused panic and a stampede occurred, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. The KSCA organised the event, which attracted a sizable turnout. Fans flocked to the venue to see their team’s cricketing heroes, despite the fact that it was only open to those with proper tickets and credentials.
Those who died included young men and women from 13 to 35 years old. According to top sources who spoke to India Today TV, the Karnataka government went ahead with the felicitation ceremony the day after RCB’s victory, despite the Bengaluru Police recommending it be held on Sunday for logistical and security reasons.
In relation to the stampede, the Bengaluru Police filed a case against the RCB team, the KSCA, DNA Networks, and other parties. Shekar H. Tekkannavar, DCP Central, verified that the Cubbon Park Police had filed the FIR. It was registered suo motu and names multiple entities as accused in the case of alleged criminal negligence.
The Karnataka High Court will rehearse the case on June 10 after requesting earlier today that the Siddaramaiah government provide a progress update on the stampede. The state government informed the High Court that on the day of the stampede, more than 1,000 police officers, including the city police commissioner, DCPs, and ACPs, were stationed at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. This occurred one day after DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister, asserted that 5,000 police officers were on hand to control the gathering.
