<p>Bengaluru: Senior police officers on Wednesday said their advice against holding the RCB victory celebrations at short notice, and instead postponing it by a week, went unheard.</p>.<p>Several city police officers <em>DH</em> spoke with regretted that their “good advice” was ignored.</p>.<p>“We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,” a senior officer privy to the discussions between various stakeholders told <em>DH</em>.</p>.Royal Challengers' homecoming ends on a tragic note .<p>According to the officer, the initial plan was to take out a procession from Vidhana Soudha to Balekundri Circle, then to Cubbon Road, MG Road, and finally to the Chinnaswamy Stadium near Queens Circle. “We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there,” the officer said.</p>.<p>However, both the government and the RCB management were keen on holding the celebrations on Wednesday itself. “Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow,” he said, adding, “Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of it. If the government had refused, that would have led to another kind of chaos.”</p>.<p>Another officer said that the city police force was stretched thin from Tuesday night as victory celebrations went on till 3.30 am in CBD areas and beyond 4.30 am on the outskirts. "On Tuesday, till 5.30 am, all our staff — from the police commissioner to constables — were on the streets and completely exhausted. It was total madness. This kind of frenzy we have never seen,” he said.</p>.<p><strong>'We expected 40,000, over 2 lakh turned up'</strong></p>.<p>The city police had expected around 30,000 to 40,000 people for the RCB’s victory celebrations at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, but over two lakh people turned up and tried to force their way in, leading to a shocking turn of events that left 11 dead and several injured.</p>.<p>Police sources disclosed to <em>DH</em> that, anticipating a turnout matching the stadium’s capacity of 35,000, about 3,000 police personnel were deployed at the venue — the standard arrangement for any high-profile match.</p>.<p>“Free tickets for the celebrations were being issued at KSCA counters near the stadium gates from around 2 pm. By 3 pm, over two lakh people had gathered near the stadium and tried to push their way in. Soon, things spun out of control, leading to the tragic developments well before the event near the Vidhana Soudha began,” the sources added.</p>.<p>Repeated calls and messages to KSCA for a response went unanswered.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Senior police officers on Wednesday said their advice against holding the RCB victory celebrations at short notice, and instead postponing it by a week, went unheard.</p>.<p>Several city police officers <em>DH</em> spoke with regretted that their “good advice” was ignored.</p>.<p>“We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,” a senior officer privy to the discussions between various stakeholders told <em>DH</em>.</p>.Royal Challengers' homecoming ends on a tragic note .<p>According to the officer, the initial plan was to take out a procession from Vidhana Soudha to Balekundri Circle, then to Cubbon Road, MG Road, and finally to the Chinnaswamy Stadium near Queens Circle. “We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there,” the officer said.</p>.<p>However, both the government and the RCB management were keen on holding the celebrations on Wednesday itself. “Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow,” he said, adding, “Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of it. If the government had refused, that would have led to another kind of chaos.”</p>.<p>Another officer said that the city police force was stretched thin from Tuesday night as victory celebrations went on till 3.30 am in CBD areas and beyond 4.30 am on the outskirts. "On Tuesday, till 5.30 am, all our staff — from the police commissioner to constables — were on the streets and completely exhausted. It was total madness. This kind of frenzy we have never seen,” he said.</p>.<p><strong>'We expected 40,000, over 2 lakh turned up'</strong></p>.<p>The city police had expected around 30,000 to 40,000 people for the RCB’s victory celebrations at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, but over two lakh people turned up and tried to force their way in, leading to a shocking turn of events that left 11 dead and several injured.</p>.<p>Police sources disclosed to <em>DH</em> that, anticipating a turnout matching the stadium’s capacity of 35,000, about 3,000 police personnel were deployed at the venue — the standard arrangement for any high-profile match.</p>.<p>“Free tickets for the celebrations were being issued at KSCA counters near the stadium gates from around 2 pm. By 3 pm, over two lakh people had gathered near the stadium and tried to push their way in. Soon, things spun out of control, leading to the tragic developments well before the event near the Vidhana Soudha began,” the sources added.</p>.<p>Repeated calls and messages to KSCA for a response went unanswered.</p>