Bengaluru stampede: How RCB’s IPL victory parade turned into a regrettable tragedy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s celebrations after their first IPL win soon turned sour after a stampede at their victory parade left 11 dead and 47 fans injured.

Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes after RCB beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League cricket final on June 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it “absolutely heartrending”. Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “The pain of this tragedy has even erased the joy of victory.”

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How celebration turned into stampede

Thousands of people, some waving the home team’s red flag, lined streets around M Chinnaswamy Stadium as the team arrived in a bus in the evening, TV channels showed, with some climbing trees and the stadium wall for a better view.

The stampede took place when thousands of fans attempted to enter the stadium in a hurry from various gates. As the celebration proceeded, some people outside without passes tried to push through gates and there was further trouble between the perimeter and main arena, police said.

Police started caning people at one gate, leading to more chaos, said Mithun Singh, a software engineer among the crowd, reported Reuters.

“I was standing near the entrance, there was a huge crowd and they stamped on me”, one lady told AFP, being taken in a wheelchair, who did not give her name. “I was not able to breathe. I fell unconscious.”

One policeman carried an injured spectator to an ambulance, while people gathered around another lying seemingly unconscious on the ground.

Crowd too huge to control

Siddaramaiah told reporters said that “no one expected such a huge crowd.” But he added that the entire police force of the city had been deployed. “The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came,” the minister said.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said hundreds of thousands of people had flocked onto the streets and that police had been “finding it very difficult.”

Naseer Ahmed, political secretary for the Karnataka chief minister, told NDTV the crowd became uncontrollable and authorities were unable to make proper arrangements.

Who were the victims?

According to NDTV, all the victims are under 40, with a 13-year-old being the youngest. Three teenagers and six people in the 20-30 years age group are among the ones who died.

Most of them had come with their friends to cheer for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Some had even travelled from other districts to join the celebration.

The Karnataka CM has announce Rs 10 lakh as compensation for the families of the deceased.

Who is accountable?

The RCB team had given away free passes for the event through its website but also warned that numbers would be limited. The team’s social media account, as well as Virat Kohli’s wife, actress Anushka Sharma, had shared videos of cheering crowds as the bus full of the players waved back.

But IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, speaking to NDTV, said organisers in the stadium had not been told about the stampede until later. “At the time of the celebrations inside the stadium officials there did not know what had happened… I would like to send my heartfelt condolences,” Dhumal said.

Shivakumar said cricket organisers had “shortened the programme”.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia has expressed his condolences over the loss of lives during a stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team felicitation event at the venue following their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win.

“BCCI feels sad and prays for the families of the deceased and our condolences are with them. What happened in Bengaluru is unfortunate; every life is precious. This is an RCB event. BCCI was not related with it in any manner as we are only accountable till the closing ceremony. We conducted it so well, handling more than one lakh people at the Narendra Modi Stadium,” he told ANI.

T20 victory parade in Mumbai was well-organised

Saikia also added that while the victory parade of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team was held last year, “none of such news came as we planned all things and were in talks with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and with the authorities”.

“Proper security was arranged at that time,” he said.

Kohli feels ‘gutted’

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener and right-hand batter Virat Kohli went from celebrating his win to mourning the tragedy. “At a loss for words. Absolutely gutted,” Kohli wrote on Instagram, followed by a broken heart emoji. 

The franchise issued a statement and offered its condolences to the families of the victims who died in the tragedy. “RCB mourns the tragic loss of lives and extend our heartfelt condolences to the affected families. Immediately upon being made aware of the situation, we promptly amended our programme, and followed, the guidance and advice of the local administration. We urge all our supporters to please stay safe,” the franchise added. 

Other stampedes in India

There have been deadly crowd incidents previously at Indian mass events such as religious festivals due to poor crowd management and safety lapses.

A stampede at India’s Kumbh Mela religious fair in January this year killed 30 people and injured several others.

In July last year, 121 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu religious gathering.

(With agency inputs)