Two senior officials associated with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and DNA Entertainment Networks have been arrested by the Bengaluru Police in connection with the stampede that happened during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4. The victory parade turned deadly and claimed 11 lives, with more than 50 people badly injured.
The Celebration That Turned Fatal
RCB, after winning their first IPL trophy, decided to do a grand celebration with a victory parade. The event was scheduled to begin from Vidhana Soudha and was supposed to end with a glorious celebration at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Fans were even promised free passes to attend the gathering.
However, after reviewing all the traffic and security concerns, authorities decided to cancel the parade. But even after that, the fans gathered in large crowds outside the stadium just to catch a glimpse of the players with the trophy.
By Evening, around 5, the crowd went all messed up at the Gateno.7 of the stadium. The absence of proper barricading and crowd control management added to the chaos and led to a stampede. All these caused multiple casualties and panic in Bengaluru public.
Arrests and Investigations
On June 6, police arrested Nikhil Sosale, RCB’s marketing head, and Sunil Mathew, a senior executive from DNA Entertainment Networks, at Kempegowda International Airport as they were travelling to Mumbai. Two additional individuals were also taken into custody, whose identities have not been revealed yet.
An FIR has been registered against RCB, the event management company DNA Entertainment Networks, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for criminal negligence and failure to implement proper crowd management protocols.
The Karnataka High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and directed the state government to submit a status report by June 10. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a judicial probe led by retired High Court judge Justice Michael Cunha, who has been given 30 days to submit a detailed report.
Compensation and Support
In the wake of public outrage and grief, RCB has announced compensation of ₹10 lakh each to the families of the people who died and has set up an “RCB Cares” fund to support the 47 injured individuals. The Karnataka government has also promised to bear all medical expenses for the victims, whether treated in government or private hospitals.
People who were celebrating a few days ago are now mourning the loss of lives and are questioning the management of their poor crowd control and safety protocols. As investigations continue and accountability is established, the focus now shifts to ensuring such a tragedy is never repeated.
