Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka High Court orders government to release report

The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to make public its status report on the tragic stampede that occurred outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL victory celebrations. The incident, which happened after RCB won their maiden IPL title, led to the death of 11 people and left over 50 injured. The government had asked for the report to remain confidential, but the court said there were “no legal grounds” to keep it private. It added that the report contained only “facts as perceived” by the government. The court also asked the government to share the report with all parties involved in the case, including the RCB franchise, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and DNA Entertainment Networks, RCB’s event partner. RCB is currently waiting for more clarity from the CID probe. Both the franchise and DNA officials have given their testimonies in the past month. A date for the final judgement has not been announced yet. On July 1, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) made some strong observations about the crowd that gathered outside the stadium. The tribunal noted that RCB’s social media posts inviting fans to join the parade after their June 3 win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) drew an estimated 3 to 5 lakh people. The CAT was asked to investigate after Bengaluru (West) IG and Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar filed a complaint following his dismissal. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had removed Vikash and four other officers, blaming them for “substantial dereliction of duty” and not taking proper steps to control the crowd. The tribunal said the RCB franchise did not seek key regulatory permissions and had “created a nuisance.” These comments were made in a 29-page order issued by CAT. RCB’s Chief Marketing Officer Nikhil Sosale, who was arrested and later granted bail, has not commented since. The franchise had announced plans to start an ‘RCB Cares’ fund to help those affected by the stampede, but there has been no update since June 4 — the day the tragedy occurred.