"Not A Blame Game": Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao On Bengaluru Stampede Report

Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Thursday announced that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede in Bengaluru, which claimed 11 lives and left more than 50 injured.

After the Karnataka government submitted a status report on the June 4 stampede that occurred after Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinched their first-ever title in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League, the Karnataka Minister said, "This is not a blame game here. If there has been some mishandling of the situation, we will take action... Since so many people died, we have to wait for the report before going to any conclusion."

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The Karnataka government submitted a status report on the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives and left over 50 people injured to the High Court on Thursday.

In its report to the High Court regarding the stampede, it has pointed to serious lapses and mismanagement from the franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

According to the state government, no formal permission was taken from the event organiser (DNA), merely informing the police about the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory parade on June 3 without seeking formal approval as mandated by the 2009 city order. Consequently, the police denied permission.

Despite police denial, RCB proceeded to publicly promote the event. On June 4, they shared open invitations on social media, including a video appeal by Virat Kohli, encouraging fans to attend the free-entry celebration, as per the report.

"On 04.06.2025, the RCB, unilaterally and without consultation/permission from the Bangalore City Police, posted a photo at 7:01 a.m. on the official RCB handle on social media (Instagram, Facebook, 'X') informing that there is free entry for people and inviting the public to participate in the Victory Parade, which would commence at Vidhana Soudha and conclude at Chinnaswamy Stadium. A second post on Social Media was made by RCB at 8:00 a.m., reiterating this information. Subsequently, on 04.06.2025, at 8:55 am, the RCB shared a video clip of Virat Kohli on RCB's official handle @rcbtweets on X, in which he stated that the team intended to celebrate this victory with the people of Bengaluru city and RCB fans on 04.06.2025 in Bengaluru. Thereafter, RCB made one more post at 3:14 p.m. on 04.06.2024, announcing a Victory Parade to be held from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, stating that this victory parade would be followed by celebrations at Chinnaswamy Stadium," the report stated.

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The massive turnout far exceeded expectations and crowd management capabilities. Due to overcrowding, at 3:14 p.m. on the day of the event, organisers abruptly announced that entry to the stadium would require passes, contradicting earlier messages and triggering confusion and panic.

The state government said that the RCB, DNA, and KSCA failed to coordinate effectively. Mismanagement at the entry gates and delayed openings led to a stampede, resulting in injuries to seven police personnel. To prevent further unrest, the police permitted a restricted version of the event to proceed under controlled conditions.

On June 4, eleven people died and more than 30 were injured in a stampede outside Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy stadium as a huge crowd of nearly 3 lakh people had gathered to witness the victory celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru for winning the Indian Premier League (IPL), following which the Karnataka government suspended top police officials at the Cubbon Park Police Station on June 5 and formed a one-man commission under a retired High Court Judge to probe the incident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)