What began as a moment of joy after historic win for Royal Challengers Bengaluru turned tragic on Wednesday, when a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium left 11 people dead and dozens injured.
After the stampede, 18 patients in total were treated at the hospital. Most of the injured have been discharged from hospitals and a few still being treated are out of danger.
The incident has led to a huge outrage, with the Karnataka High Court taking note of the incident. The court took suo motu cognisance of the incident and asked for a further status report.
Veteran photographer Chinappa, who witnessed the chaos firsthand, said 2-3 lakh people had gathered and some even climbed trees.
“There were at least 2 to 3 lakh people gathered, yet the administration was completely missing,” Chinappa said. “People had climbed trees. Even today, RCB flags are hanging from branches. There was no crowd control, no barricades, no communication. By 2 or 3 pm, the crowd started to spiral out of control,” he said.
A Celebration Marred By Confusion
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their maiden title after 18 seasons with a six-run victory over Punjab Kings in the IPL final at Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
The victory set the city abuzz and officials announced a celebration at the Vidhana Soudha, followed by a fan event at the stadium.
However, conflicting information left many unsure where to go. At first, fans were told players would appear at the Assembly building, only to be redirected to the stadium, which could hold just 35,000 people — a fraction of the turnout.
Desperate Fans, Uncontrollable Crowd
Thousands stormed the stadium gates in the afternoon, desperate for a glimpse of stars like Virat Kohli. Many had valid tickets. Others came hoping to be part of the historic moment. But security forces, overwhelmed and underprepared, sealed the gates to prevent a rush, sparking panic and leading to a deadly stampede.
“I don’t know what we did wrong,” said Prashant Shetty, a postgraduate student who bought tickets but was turned away. “The roads were blocked, the gates closed, and then the police began lathi-charging us,” he said.
Though there were no arrangements made to handle the heavy crowd, desperate fans reached to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars, including Virat Kohli.
The tickets for the hastily-arranged engagement programme were sold in a jiffy, but the fans crowded all the gates 12, 13 (main gates) and 10 (club house entrance) with not enough security to control them.
The number swelled to unexpected levels around 3.30 pm and it forced the police and stadium security officials to close all the gates to prevent the ticket-less from squeezing in along with the ones who had valid tickets.
“We came to watch our stars. I bought tickets for the function but was not even able to enter the stadium. Police suddenly blocked all the roads and closed all the entrances to the venue, and suddenly they started lathi-charging near the main gate,” said Prashant Shetty, a post-graduate student who came along with a few of his friends.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed the deaths and injuries, announcing Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of those killed. But he also admitted the turnout was massively underestimated.
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