Bengaluru stampede: Govt suspends city top cop, orders judicial probe; police book RCB, state cricket association

A day after the stampede, which occurred when lakhs of people gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning the IPL, police booked RCB, event management company DNA and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) administration. CM Siddaramaiah later asked police to arrest representatives of RCB, DNA, and KSCA.

Earlier on Thursday, the Karnataka High Court took suo motu cognizance of the stampede and directed the state government to provide a status report by June 10.

Briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting, Siddaramaiah said retired High Court judge Justice Michael Cunha would probe the incident. The one-man judicial commission, tasked with investigating lapses in planning, coordination and crowd management, has been asked to submit a report in 30 days, the CM said.

Later in the day, IPS officer Seemanth Kumar Singh was appointed the new City Police Commissioner of Bengaluru.

The stampede broke out around 4 pm when more than 15 people, including a woman, fell on the ground in the rush of the crowd outside Gate 3 of the stadium. (Express photo by Jithendra M)

The CM also ordered the suspension of Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekar H Tekkannavar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cubbon Park) C Balakrishna, and Cubbon Park police station Inspector A K Girish.

The FIR filed at the Cubbon Park police station said the KSCA administration was denied permission to hold the celebrations.

On June 3, after the IPL final between RCB and Punjab Kings, there were celebrations at night at different locations in Bengaluru, and Cubbon Park police personnel were deployed until 5.30 am on Wednesday, the FIR said.

The FIR further said that at around 9 am on Wednesday, senior police officers were informed about the celebrations. There was also a felicitation event held at Vidhana Soudha, for which security was provided.

By afternoon, lakhs of people started gathering near the Chinnaswamy stadium. However, the stadium has a seating capacity of about 35,000.

On Wednesday, 11 people including women died and 47 others were injured as RCB fans stampeded into Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium to catch a glimpse of the winners. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)

At around 3.10 pm, the stadium gates were opened, after which the stampede took place. The FIR accused the RCB, KSCA, and DNA of going ahead with the event without providing safe facilities. Police also blamed RCB for its social media posts saying that free passes would be distributed near the stadium’s gates.

The Cubbon Park police registered a case under BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons), 118(2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) read with 3(5) (joint liability), 190 (unlawful assembly), 132 (assault or criminal force against a public servant to deter them from discharging their duty), 125(a) (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 125(b) (individual’s act that endangers the life or personal safety of others, resulting in hurt).

At the Karnataka High Court, the case was heard on Thursday by a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice C M Joshi. Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty made submissions on the facts of the matter and the measures taken so far.

Shetty told the court that over 2.5 lakh people had gathered around the stadium and that this meant facilities like ambulances that were deployed were not sufficient. He said the government was considering bringing out new standard operating procedures for big public gatherings.

The court said it was taking cognizance of the incident “to ascertain the reasons which led to the tragedy” and to establish “whether the tragedy could have been prevented (and) what remedial measures need to be taken to prevent such tragedies in future”.

The next date of hearing in the matter will be June 10, by when the court has directed the state to submit a status report. It directed the court registry to register the matter as a suo motu writ petition.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wednesday issued a statement following the death of 11 people and over 47 injuries in a stampede that happened when thousands gathered to celebrate the IPL final victory of franchise. (Express Photo | Jithendra M)

The Advocate General made several submissions in the court regarding the incident, noting that 1,318 police personnel and 325 personnel from the Karnataka State Reserve Police were deployed for the RCB victory celebrations. Other details regarding the arrangements that were in place, such as ambulances, water tankers and fire tenders, were also provided. He said, “More than 2.5 lakh persons gathered around Chinnaswamy stadium, resulting in the total death of 11 persons at various gates.”

“The government has taken the issue seriously and is exploring the option of issuing a fresh SOP to regulate public gatherings… of every kind,” he said. He noted that while facilities like ambulances were deployed, they were not sufficient owing to the large number of people who gathered at the stadium, which normally seats 34,600 people. He said people had come from all parts of the state and beyond.

“We have given notices to the Royal Challengers, DNA… FIR has also been filed against them… We are as much concerned as anybody else. It is not that we are hiding. The first statement that the honourable Chief Minister made was giving compensation, medical treatment, (and) coming up with new SOPs…,” the Advocate General said.