Bengaluru, June 4: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden victory celebration turned tragic on Wednesday when a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium left at least 11 dead and 47 injured, according to officials and eyewitness accounts.
The stampede — Bengaluru’s first in decades — broke out between 4 pm and 5:30 pm at the stadium’s three entry gates (17, 18 and 21), as thousands pushed their way to witness the invite-only historic event.
Most of the deceased were young men and women, with the youngest being a 13-year-old girl. Many victims are believed to have died from suffocation after being trampled.
Thirty-three injured victims are still in hospital. At least one is critical.
Reliable sources said that RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the state government ignored police advice to postpone the celebrations.
“We tried to discourage them but there was a mad frenzy. The celebrations had continued into the early hours, and our personnel were exhausted. Though we managed to cancel the victory procession, our request to either confine the celebrations to a single venue or postpone it to Sunday — when emotions would have settled — was ignored,” said a senior police officer. “We simply had no time to prepare. It was a case of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’.”
There were heart-wrenching scenes at hospitals. “Yelu, chinna? Appa banddidare, baa maga (Wake up, son. Father has come),” cried the mother of 20-year-old Bhumik.
His father, Lakshman, was equally inconsolable. “God gave me everything. Now what am I supposed to do without my son? How can I go back home,” he said.
A traffic policeman deployed at the stadium flagged the “poor coordination” among the police, the fire force and the KSCA. At the time of the stampede, a large number of police personnel were deployed near the Vidhana Soudha, where the state government was felicitating the RCB players. “We didn’t even have clarity on the event’s agenda,” he said.
After the Vidhana Soudha event ended, large crowds travelled through Cubbon Park to reach the stadium. Despite the huge crowd — estimated at 3 lakh — there was no public address system.
Shockingly, even after the stampede, another gate near Queen’s Road was opened, and many people streamed in.
One eyewitness said the security was so overwhelmed that people were allowed in without their entry passes being checked.
Many were perched on trees. Barricades were broken down and hundreds of discarded footwear lay scattered outside the entry gates.
A DH journalist at the stadium saw ambulances streaming in and out, their sirens drowned by cries of cheering fans. Many victims had to be taken out in autos. Some ambulances carrying the victims got stuck in the crowd-packed roads around the stadium.
“I shifted two people barely breathing into an auto,” the officer said. “There was no mercy. Everyone just wanted to get in, no matter what. Everyone was busy making videos.”
Namma Metro shut five stations and reopened them only when crowds cleared out.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar defended the police, saying they did their best. “You saw the crowd. We can’t hit them with sticks.”
The RCB issued a statement, saying it was “deeply anguished by the unfortunate incidents” and “mourns the tragic loss of lives”.
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