Three major lapses: No coordination, no communication, no crowd management

Bengaluru: Poor coordination, minimal arrangements, lack of clarity about the agenda, and several other factors are believed to be the primary reasons behind the stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

"While the event was ongoing at the Vidhana Soudha, most police officers were unaware of the rally. Similarly, there was inadequate communication between the organisers and us (the police personnel stationed at the venue)," a traffic police officer outside the stadium told DH.

As observed by this reporter, there were very few barricades at the gates, and it was evident that the number of police personnel was insufficient to manage the swelling crowd. "When one officer is tasked with controlling 100 people, the substantial gap should have been addressed by deploying stronger security measures — which was not possible due to the short notice," the officer explained.

He said that gates were opened one by one, with no clear indication or announcement about when or which gate would open. "Thousands gathered around a single gate, and when they saw it open, everyone rushed toward it, creating a bottleneck that triggered the stampede," he added.

Moreover, the crowd was confused about the entry process. As with any other match, many arrived at the stadium hoping to get in through some arrangements, unaware of the specifics of the event. There were also insufficient ambulances at both the Vidhana Soudha and Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The situation worsened due to poor clarity regarding the roadshow, causing lakhs of people to gather near the Vidhana Soudha. Matters escalated when thousands rushed towards the stadium immediately after the felicitation event at the Vidhana Soudha.

Although the stampede had already occurred, people gathered at the Vidhana Soudha remained unaware of it. Network coverage was poor, leaving many parents of students attending the event anxious about their wards’ safety.