Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka govt alleges dereliction of duty in suspension order of commissioner, other cops

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday suspended Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda and a few other police officers, for alleged dereliction of duty.

The decision came a day after 11 people died and at least 64 people were injured, including police officers, in a stampede that occurred outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, while the crowd had gathered to participate in the victory celebrations of RCB’s maiden IPL win.

The government suspended Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar H Tekkannavar, Assistant Commissioner of Police C Balakrishna and Cubbon Park police inspector A K Girish with immediate effect.

A government order issued on Thursday noted that the officers had committed substantial dereliction of duty, which "brought a lot of misery, loss of precious life, and embarrassment to the Government”.

The government’s reasoning was that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru CEO had informed the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner on June 3 about the victory parade and celebrations that were to be held on June 4. “However, the office of Police Commissioner failed to give written reply to the Organizers, rejecting the permission on the grounds of lack of time to prepare for such a huge event. The RCB and the Cricket Association went ahead to tweet about the celebrations and invite the fans to Chinnaswamy stadium without going through the usual practice of issuing tickets or passes,” the order read.

It further stated that despite the knowledge of these developments and expectation of huge turnout of cricket fans by the police, no steps were taken to have the event organised in a systematic manner at the stadium or give adequate information to the public to take necessary precautions for their safety. No steps were taken to also provide additional police force for appropriate crowd management, it added.

“The above situation was not discussed with the higher-ups for taking necessary guidance and advice in the matter. As a result, the situation went out of control and brought a lot of misery, loss of precious life and embarrassment to the Government,” read the order issued by T Mahanthesh, under secretary to government, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) (Services-1).