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'Will Find Out If Tragedy Could Have Been Avoided': High Court On Stampede

Eleven people, including a 14-year-old girl, died and 47 were injured in the stampede.

'Will Find Out If Tragedy Could Have Been Avoided': High Court On Stampede
The next hearing in the case will be on Tuesday.
Bengaluru:

Taking note of the stampede in Bengaluru during the celebrations of RCB's victory in the IPL, the Karnataka High Court has issued notice to the state government and sought a status report. 

In a hearing on Thursday, a bench of Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi said it has taken suo moto cognisance to ascertain whether the tragedy could have been prevented and what measures can be taken to ensure this does not happen in the future.

Eleven people, including a 14-year-old girl, died and 47 were injured in the stampede.

The Attorney General of Karnataka highlighted that there was enough police deployment, but the crowd at the stadium on Wednesday was much bigger than expected. 

"There was a huge crowd, people not only came from Bengaluru but from around the state and even from outside. 2.5 lakh people came because it was published that it is free entry," the attorney general (AG) said

When the court asked whether all the casualties occurred at the stadium, the AG said they occurred near the entry gates. 

"We are concerned about it as much as anyone else. The first statement given by the chief minister was about compensation to be given and medical treatment to be provided. We have been working... We are open to any suggestions," he said.

The next hearing in the case will be on Tuesday.

Speaking to NDTV on Thursday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar expressed grief over the incident and said the state government is sorry. 

"Can't express the pain that I am suffering. Never expected this to happen. The entire state was watching. We are very sorry," Mr Shivakumar said, adding, "(We) don't want to politicise this issue. Have to rectify what went wrong. At the same time, all our part of our family. We will join with them in this grief."

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