'My daughter was not even cricket fan,' says dad of 19-yr-old victim of Bengaluru stampede

Bengaluru: An inconsolable Karunakara Shetty, the father of 19-year-old Chinmayi Shetty who was one of the victims of the stampede, said that his daughter was not even a cricket fan. "She called me around 1.30 pm on Wednesday, told me that about a 100 of her batchmates were going to the stadium. I did not think twice before agreeing to let her join. And see what has happened," said Shetty.  

A first-year BTech student at a private college on Kanakapura Road, Chinmayi, having attended classes in the morning, decided to accompany her friends to the Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

Recalling his daughter's passion for Yakshagana, Shetty said, "She had practiced Yakshagana for five years, and had given performances. She stopped her practice only when pandemic struck in 2020, but her passion for Yakshagana endured, and a few months ago, she resumed practice." 

Pointing proudly to her distinguished academic record, Shetty said, "Chinmayi scored 97% in SSLC and 96% in the second-PU examinations. She wanted to study MTech, and wished to pursue a career either in academia or as a teacher." 

Died en route to hospital

Chinmayi, not wholly conscious when she was moved into the ambulance, died on board the vehicle en route to Manipal Hospital. Staff at the hospital intimated Chinmayi's parents of her death around 5.30pm on Wednesday. "Her bag and phone are still with the person who took her to the hospital. He has promised to return them to us," said the bereaved father. 

Chinmayi's body was handed over to us in the night on Wednesday, and she was cremated in Banashankari, confirmed Shetty.