Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s attempt to celebrate the team’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 triumph with fans met the most tragic outcome, with at least 11 people reportedly losing their lives in a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Since the moment RCB lifted the IPL title, there was absolute chaos on the streets of Bengaluru, with fans going berserk while celebrating the team’s success. As soon as the news of a victory procession in Bengaluru was confirmed for Wednesday evening, fans started to gather around the stadium since morning.
Multiple alerts from the police and the traffic officials were also sent on social media, urging fans to be organised, while discouraging an open bus parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy. As per a report in the Deccan Herald, the RCB management and the state government were also urged not to do any form of celebration on Wednesday, as emotions were high.
When RCB were told to plan the victory procession on Sunday, the franchise argued that they wouldn’t have the overseas players with them by then.
“We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,” the report quoted a police official as saying.
“We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there,” said the officer further.
With the schedule of the IPL already pushed by more than a week due to the Indo-Pak conflict, the franchise had to release the overseas players for their international commitments. The situation, hence, left all those involved with no option but to give the programme a go ahead.
“Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow,” he said.
“Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of it. If the government had refused, that would have led to another kind of chaos,” he further added.
“On Tuesday, till 5.30 am, all our staff – from the police commissioner to constables – were on the streets and completely exhausted. It was total madness. This kind of frenzy we have never seen.”
