Bengaluru stampede: What went wrong?

Bengaluru: Almost a day before the tragic stampede at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on June 4, a letter was sent out by the state’s governing body for cricket, seeking permission to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden IPL title victory. This triggered a series of events that led to the catastrophe, where 11 people died and over 60
injured. 

But the letter was not really for permission, top police sources say. “It was more of a message that the celebrations will happen,” the sources claim. 

At around 6 pm on Tuesday, even before the final match kicked off, Shubhendu Ghosh, the CEO of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), sent the letter to Cubbon Park Police Inspector Girish A K. The police inspector rejected
KSCA’s request. 

The police department, especially those covering the Central Business District (CBD), were on overdrive to ensure the overnight fan frenzy post RCB’s victory remained peaceful. It was — there were no untoward incidents till Wednesday dawned.

On Wednesday morning, RCB, with over 21 million Instagram followers, announced a victory parade at 3.30 pm, concluding at the stadium. This news spread like wildfire — social media was abuzz. The police were not kept in the loop. 

While this was going on, a parallel decision was being made to felicitate the players at the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his entourage.

Multiple sources have confirmed to DH that the police brass tried to dissuade the government from immediate celebration and suggested they hold it the following weekend, which would give ample time for them to make arrangements and hopefully, the frenzy would subside.

This recommendation, however, was not heeded. At an impromptu meeting at the CM’s house on Wednesday morning, all the top brass were present. Here, even before the CM arrived, the decision to celebrate was thrust upon the police department without their participation in the discussion, multiple sources say. Before this, on several levels, calls were made to make sure the plan stays on course.

Nearing the afternoon, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara publicly announced that the players will be felicitated at the Vidhana Soudha. Following this, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was at the forefront of the celebrations.

Shivakumar was seen welcoming players at the HAL airport and escorting them to a hotel. 

Later, the team arrived at Vidhana Soudha. Through a second social media post in the afternoon, the RCB announced that the victory parade will start at Vidhana Soudha and will conclude at the stadium, followed by celebrations there. RCB also shared a web link for limited free passes. Sources say this was done without informing the police too. 

Just half an hour before the stampede erupted, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Anucheth at 3.37 pm posted his final clarification of the day on a WhatsApp group for media: “Still no clarity on the victory parade. We have made preparations in case it happens.”

Before this, Anucheth had said that there would be no victory parade, while a decision was still being made. Even Parameshwara had denied the possibility of the parade due to security concerns. However, when the felicitation was underway at Vidhana Soudha, an open-roofed vehicle was stationed nearby. But the plan was likely changed, as it rained briefly.

A little after 3 pm, Vidhana Soudha was filled with dignitaries, and the public started to gather. At around 4.40 pm, the felicitation began. It remains unclear if the CM and his ministers were in the dark about what was unfolding at the stadium.

At around 3.30 pm, chaos began erupting at different gates of the Chinnaswamy stadium. Surprisingly, there were few policemen. With confirmation from multiple sources, it was revealed that even the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) who were appointed at the stadium had a briefing that lacked in-depth directions. Multiple sources confirmed that neither the Internal Security Division (ISD) was informed, nor additional force from the city’s neighbouring districts, including Bengaluru Rural, were roped in.  

It took brave efforts from the few DCPs — one of whom was hospitalised for minor injuries — who were at the stadium with a capacity of 35,000, to control the crowd, said to be over 2.5 lakh. In a later submission to the High Court, the state government said that 1,318 Bengaluru police personnel were deployed for security. 

Victims of the stampede have revealed that there was a lack of clarity regarding the ticketing system. 

A few attendees were not following the rules, likely under the influence. As seen by DH reporters, some climbed barricades, others manhandled security guards, pushed the gates, tried to jump over the barbed fences and climbed trees. As the stadium was being filled to the brim at around 5 pm, the security guards were in a dilemma whether to open the gates or keep them closed.

Chaos also arose because only a few of the gates, which are generally open to the public during matches, were allowing entry, and none of the deputed police officers knew which gate would open when.

All of this culminated in 11 people dying and over 60 being injured.  

As per multiple reports and confirmations, even as initial news about the stampede and deaths spread, the celebrations continued. Later, DCM Shivakumar claimed that B Dayananda, who was the police commissioner at the time, informed him about the incident and asked him to wrap things up in 10 minutes.

Shivakumar was later seen posing for photographs at the stadium while lifting the trophy, flanked by Kohli on his right and RCB skipper Rajat Patidar on his left. DH reporters who were at the venue said that celebrations at the stadium lasted for about 15-20 minutes.

When the public outrage began, the CM, his deputy and other Opposition leaders visited hospitals to take stock of the situation. The next day, following a Cabinet briefing, Dayananda and his fellow officers were placed under suspension.

The government, in the suspension order, made an important note: The CEO of RCB had intimated Dayananda about holding the victory parade on June 3.

“However, the office of the police commissioner failed to give a written reply to the organisers, rejecting the permission on the grounds of lack of time to prepare for such a huge event,” the order noted.

Multiple sources, however, said that the intimation was only from KSCA and not directly from RCB brass.

While these IPS officers were suspended for “dereliction of duty”, the CM transferred the state intelligence chief Hemant Nimbalkar as there was “some intelligence failure”. 

A magisterial inquiry was also ordered — a one-man inquiry commission of retired Justice John Michael D’Cunha was formed, and the case was handed over to the CID for a detailed probe.

Initially, the police only registered 11 Unnatural Death Reports. But when the High Court took cognisance of the matter and following public outrage, three FIRs followed, naming RCB, DNA Entertainment Pvt Ltd and KSCA. So far, four people, including top officials from RCB and the firm responsible for event management, have been arrested by the police.

Last-minute preparations, a lack of clarity and an unexpected crowd ultimately contributed to the unfortunate tragedy.