Bengaluru stampede: How DCP North, his two staff, braved the crowds

Bengaluru: Between 3.30 pm and 4 pm on Wednesday at Gates 17 and 18 of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Central Bengaluru, a senior Bengaluru police officer and his two subordinates braved an unruly mob of over 5,000 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) supporters while attempting to control the stampede.

At least 11 people were killed and over 50 were injured after a stampede at Gates 2, 2a, 6, 7, 16, 17, 18 and 21 of the stadium, where a scheduled celebration of RCB winning their maiden IPL trophy was held.

At around 3.30 pm, the crowds began gathering at the stadium while the players were being felicitated at the nearby Vidhana Soudha in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and others.

Gate 17 was being manned only by a security guard from the stadium, who was easily overwhelmed by the growing crowd. The safety barricades were no match for the crowd as it forced itself into the gate, even as the security guard tried to resist.

As soon as a few managed to get in, the rest of the crowd began rushing towards the gate, making those in the front fall down. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Saidulu Adavath, his gunman Abhilash and R T Nagar station police sub-inspector (PSI) Natraj, who were caught in traffic, reached the spot.

Immediately, Adavath caught hold of a lathi and began clearing the crowd. He then went inside, while being crushed by the mob. Once he got in, after multiple attempts, the gate was closed.

The DCP and his staff then lathicharged towards Gates 18 and 19 to disperse the crowd. Due to this, there was no stampede at Gate 19. In the meantime, around five people fell unconscious and were taken care of inside Gate 17.

Due to the lack of a police force for nearly an hour, the DCP, who is a senior officer in charge of a division in Bengaluru, had to lathicharge the whole crowd to maintain law and order.

After an hour, the backup arrived at the stadium, but it was a little too late.

Adavath is currently admitted at the Ramaiah Hospital, where he is under observation for a minor hand injury, low blood pressure, likely due to extreme stress and arrhythmia. His staffers were safe.