Karnataka Government Holds RCB and BCCI Accountable for Bengaluru Stadium Incident
Government's Statement on the Tragic Incident
On June 4, during the celebration of RCB's victory at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, a tragic stampede occurred, prompting a significant response from the Karnataka government. In a court hearing, the government explicitly attributed responsibility for the incident to both the BCCI and RCB.
The Karnataka government, on Wednesday, directly blamed RCB and BCCI for the stampede that resulted in the deaths of 11 individuals outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government informed the High Court that no permissions were obtained for the event, and the organizers had invited fans globally through social media.
This revelation emerged during the court proceedings concerning petitions filed by four individuals, including RCB's marketing head, Nikhil Sosale, who challenged their arrests. The case is being heard by a single bench of High Court Judge S.R. Krishna Kumar.
Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, representing the state government, stated in court that RCB had secured a victory against Punjab on May 29 and was aware of their advancement to the finals. Despite this, they failed to seek permission for a victory parade or for celebrations at the stadium.
Shetty further explained that just an hour before the match on June 3, the organizers submitted a letter to the administration indicating their intention to hold a victory parade, which did not constitute a request for permission but merely an announcement of their plans.
Nevertheless, RCB continued to post multiple messages on social media from 11:30 PM on June 3 until the morning of June 4, inviting fans to join in the victory parade and celebrations.
The Advocate General remarked that it appeared as if they had invited the entire world. He noted that approximately 350,000 to 400,000 people gathered outside the stadium, which has a capacity of only 33,000. He also pointed out that the organizers never specified who would be allowed inside, merely stating in their social media posts that all fans were welcome to cheer for the team.
The government also informed the court that an agreement existed between RCB and BCCI regarding gate management, ticketing, and security, which placed the responsibility for crowd control on the franchise and the cricket board. Initially, it was claimed that a tripartite agreement involving DNA Entertainment and KSCA was in place for the event, but this was later corrected in court.