India, June 9 -- Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday defended his government over the recent stampede during the RCB victory celebrations in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives, stating that the incident was not a government-organised event and lapses in police arrangements led to the tragedy. He confirmed that five police officers have been suspended, and key officials, including the state intelligence chief and his own political secretary, have been replaced.

Addressing reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said the government had acted swiftly based on initial findings and was taking the incident very seriously. He stressed that conditional permission was granted only for the event at Vidhana Soudha, while the stampede occurred ou...