Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara said an estimated 8 lakh people gathered in Bengaluru to celebrate the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s maiden IPL title win.
The minister said nearly 8.70 lakh metro tickets were sold on the day of the celebration, suggesting the sheer volume of fans descending upon Bengaluru. “We estimated that 1 lakh people were outside Vidhan Soudha and 25,000 outside the stadium. We did not expect that 2.5 lakh people would come. 8.70 lakh Metro tickets were sold. Assuming most were cricket fans, 8 lakh people showed up,” he stated.
Calling it unprecedented, the Home Minister acknowledged that the crowd was far beyond expectations. “There has been no previous instance of so many people gathering for cricket. It would have been a record had it gone well. I’ve spoken to RCB and spoken to the KSCA – they’ve told us their opinion,” he added.
All Stampede Victims Aged Below 40
The victims were predominantly young, with all deceased individuals under the age of 40. Among them was 13-year-old Divyanshi, the youngest to lose her life in the stampede. Others included teenagers and young adults such as Shivalinga (17), Chinmayi (19), and Prajwal (20). Most had arrived in groups, eager to witness what was expected to be a grand celebration for RCB’s first IPL trophy in 18 years.
The incident occurred across multiple gates, specifically Gates 2, 2A, 6, 7, 16, 17, 18, and 21, where the surge of people turned unmanageable. “I have come here to see what can be done to make sure this doesn’t happen again. There is no information about people dying on the spot. We do not have information on how many died at the gates,” Home Minister Parmeshwara noted.
Emergency Services Stretched Thin
With the stadium’s capacity limited to 35,000, authorities were ill-prepared for the flood of attendees. While some came from nearby districts, many were local fans who crowded the vicinity long before the event began. Hours after the stampede, the ground outside the stadium remained scattered with footwear, mobile phones, and personal belongings. Emergency services continued their operations through the night, attempting to manage the aftermath.
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