India, June 7 -- The tragic loss of lives in the recent stampede in Bengaluru - coinciding with the IPL cricket tournament - underscores a disturbing and recurring reality: crowd management and police bandobast (security deployment) are still too often treated as routine, symbolic, and reactive. At times, they are reduced to photo opportunities rather than the collaborative, preventive effort that public safety demands. While each event has unique features, there are certain non-negotiable principles that must govern crowd safety to prevent tragedy.

Organisers must be held to higher standards

As per licensing rules, no event should be conducted without official permission from the local administration. Organisers are expected to submit ...