<p>The jubilation surrounding Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) long-awaited IPL victory turned into tragedy on June 4 when a stampede at the Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed 11 lives. </p><p>The Justice Michael D’Cunha Commission, which investigated the incident, has implicated RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), DNA Entertainment Networks Ltd., and senior police officers, including former Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda. </p><p>The government subsequently submitted to the High Court that the police acted as “servants of the organisers”. While accountability must be established, it is pertinent to ask: Is it right to throw the police under the bus? Such harsh statements against the police, as if they are a third party, will have a demoralising impact on the force. Rather than assigning blame to a single entity, this disaster must be recognised as a result of collective lapses in judgement, negligence, and institutional complacency.</p>.<p>The organisers displayed blatant disregard for public safety by proceeding without the mandatory police clearance. Hosting an event of this scale without authorisation is not mere oversight but reckless arrogance. The police also faltered at multiple levels. The commissioner should have formally denied permission in writing, especially when the size of the anticipated crowd was evident from lakhs of people engaging with RCB’s social media post about the event. Most critically, upon realising that the event was proceeding without permission, the commissioner, vested with magisterial powers, should have declared it unlawful and imposed prohibitory orders to prevent the mass gathering. Such decisive action could have averted the disaster.</p>.<p>Political interference exacerbated the situation. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar going to the airport to receive the team waving an RCB flag, and the presence of the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and the entire government machinery at the celebrations at Vidhana Soudha created an undeniable atmosphere of political endorsement. </p><p>Now, having initially basked in the euphoria of the victory, the government seeks to distance itself, leaving the police to bear the brunt of accountability. It is to be noted that portions of the panel report were released on the day the government submitted its status report to the High Court. </p><p>While political pressure is an unfortunate reality, the tragedy should serve as a reminder to the police to never act on oral instructions when public safety is involved. In the end, the responsibility for the tragedy is multifold; the organisers’ recklessness, the police’s operational lapses, and the politicians’ implicit interference all contributed to this avoidable catastrophe. The next time such an event is planned, every institution involved must learn from the tragedy and act with the responsibility that the public rightfully expects.</p>
<p>The jubilation surrounding Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) long-awaited IPL victory turned into tragedy on June 4 when a stampede at the Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed 11 lives. </p><p>The Justice Michael D’Cunha Commission, which investigated the incident, has implicated RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), DNA Entertainment Networks Ltd., and senior police officers, including former Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda. </p><p>The government subsequently submitted to the High Court that the police acted as “servants of the organisers”. While accountability must be established, it is pertinent to ask: Is it right to throw the police under the bus? Such harsh statements against the police, as if they are a third party, will have a demoralising impact on the force. Rather than assigning blame to a single entity, this disaster must be recognised as a result of collective lapses in judgement, negligence, and institutional complacency.</p>.<p>The organisers displayed blatant disregard for public safety by proceeding without the mandatory police clearance. Hosting an event of this scale without authorisation is not mere oversight but reckless arrogance. The police also faltered at multiple levels. The commissioner should have formally denied permission in writing, especially when the size of the anticipated crowd was evident from lakhs of people engaging with RCB’s social media post about the event. Most critically, upon realising that the event was proceeding without permission, the commissioner, vested with magisterial powers, should have declared it unlawful and imposed prohibitory orders to prevent the mass gathering. Such decisive action could have averted the disaster.</p>.<p>Political interference exacerbated the situation. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar going to the airport to receive the team waving an RCB flag, and the presence of the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and the entire government machinery at the celebrations at Vidhana Soudha created an undeniable atmosphere of political endorsement. </p><p>Now, having initially basked in the euphoria of the victory, the government seeks to distance itself, leaving the police to bear the brunt of accountability. It is to be noted that portions of the panel report were released on the day the government submitted its status report to the High Court. </p><p>While political pressure is an unfortunate reality, the tragedy should serve as a reminder to the police to never act on oral instructions when public safety is involved. In the end, the responsibility for the tragedy is multifold; the organisers’ recklessness, the police’s operational lapses, and the politicians’ implicit interference all contributed to this avoidable catastrophe. The next time such an event is planned, every institution involved must learn from the tragedy and act with the responsibility that the public rightfully expects.</p>
