All the victims of the stampede tragedy at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy stadium are under 40, with a 13-year-old being the youngest. Among those dead are three teenagers and six people in the 20-30 years age group.
Most of them had come with their friends to cheer their team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, which won the IPL trophy after an 18-year wait. Many were from Bengaluru, but some had travelled from other districts too. What started as a heady celebration ended in tragedy as the huge rush overwhelmed security arrangements, leading to a stampede. Eleven people were killed and 47 others injured.
The victims have been identified AS Divyanshi (13), Doresha (32), Bhoomik (20), Sahana (25), Akshata (27), Manoj (33), Shravan (20), Devi (29), Shivalinga (17) and Chinmayi (19) and Prajwal (20).
Hasty preparations, lack of adequate planning and a massive rush of fans are among the factors that led to the tragedy. Questions have been raised about the state government’s decision to organise a reception at the Vidhana Soudha where Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar felicitated the team. The two venues — Vidhana Soudha and Chinnaswamy stadium — created a massive challenge: due to VIP presence at the Assembly complex, a massive number of security personnel had to be deployed there. This led to a limited number of cops tackling lakhs of fans at the Chinnaswamy stadium. The stadium’s capacity is around 35,000 and the crowd exceeded 3 lakh.
In fact, Bengaluru police had refused permission for a victory parade, citing tall security challenges. But the Karnataka State Cricket Association and team organisers went ahead anyway. Around 3.14 pm, despite advisories and warnings, RCB confirmed a victory parade and announced free passes. This led to a massive surge of fans at the stadium, without any clarity on how entry would be allowed. When news spread that it was to be on ‘first come, first serve’ basis, chaos took over. Some attempted to climb gates, others pushed barricades. Security personnel struggled to control the situation and some people tripped in the crowd and fell.
Amid criticism over inadequate preparations, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed a press conference in which he announced compensation for the families of those killed and free treatment for those injured.
“Such incidents happened in so many places. I am not going to defend this by comparing it with them now, by saying it happened here and there. In Kumbh Mela, 50-60 people died, but I didn’t criticise it. If Congress criticises, then that is a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?” he asked.
The remark drew a sharp counter from veteran BJP leader Pralhad Joshi. Targeting the state government, Mr Joshi said it cannot escape responsibility by drawing comparisons. “Kumbh and this is incomparable. When police denied permission, why did you force them? My second question to Siddaramaiah is, after the deaths, you continue your celebration? Why did Deputy Chief Minister (DK Shivakumar) go to receive them? They are busy with selfies, nobody is bothered about what has happened to the common man.”
He said the Kumbh tragedy was handled sensitively. “No one was taking selfies. A judicial inquiry must be conducted. The government has to reply. This is highly condemnable,” Mr Joshi said, slamming the state government.
