The size of the crowd that had gathered for the celebrations of RCB's victory in the IPL was unexpected and "nobody could have visualised it", Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Political Secretary Naseer Ahmed has said, after at least 11 people died in a stampede on Wednesday.
"Time was also very short, it was not announced. The match was yesterday, and today, in a very short time, whatever best possible arrangements could be made, were made," he said.
When NDTV asked if the celebration should have been held later, he said, "The situation was such, many of the players had commitments, they had to leave the country tonight. That was the situation and they insisted that they should leave today... RCB is a Bengaluru team, they just wanted to come and participate."
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the Indian Premier League on Tuesday - marking a major milestone for Virat Kohli and the team's fans, who waited 18 years to lift the trophy - and huge crowds gathered at the Vidhana Soudha, which is the state legislature complex, and the Chinnaswamy Stadium to greet the team on Wednesday afternoon.
The players met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the Vidhana Soudha and were felicitated there, after which they went to the stadium, took victory laps and celebrated with the trophy as adoring fans looked on.
A stampede occurred outside the stadium and eleven people died. Over 30 others have been admitted to various hospitals, including Bowring Hospital and Vydehi Hospital.
"We Were Assured...": IPL Chairman
When he spoke to NDTV later, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal was asked why the celebrations went on at the stadium despite the tragedy, and he said officials inside were not aware of what had happened.
"It is very sad and tragic. We had no knowledge of any such victory parade or celebration happening in Bengaluru, because the event got finished last night... I don't know who organised it... We spoke to the management and told them and, in fact, they were not aware of what had happened outside. They assured us that they are immediately calling it off," he said.
"I would like to convey my condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones... We are not even aware if someone planned this event or fans came on their own thinking they would come with the cup there... This will be looked into... For the BCCI, the IPL ended last night," he added.
Slugfest
The BJP has accused the Congress government in Karnataka of seeking publicity and allowing the celebrations to take place without making adequate arrangements.
"It's heartbreaking to see such loss because of poor planning and crowd mismanagement. The state government in Karnataka has clearly failed in its responsibility. Celebrations are one thing, but the State government without proper planning, without taking emergency services into confidence, took this urgent and unfortunate decision. This could have been avoided (sic)," senior BJP leader and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi wrote on X.
"The Government is responsible for this and accountability needs to be fixed," he added.
Asked about the BJP's allegations, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar dismissed them, saying, "They are there to allege, we are here to protect. I am going to the hospital now."
