FIR in Bengaluru crush deaths; HC opens case
Bengaluru, June 6 -- A first information report (FIR) was registered on Thursday by the Cubbon Park police in connection with the stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium which claimed 11 lives and left 47 injured on Wednesday evening even as the Karnataka high court began hearing the matter, taking suo motu cognizance of the incident.
Officials said the FIR does not name any accused.
"In total, eleven Unnatural Death Reports (UDRs) have been filed at the Cubbon Park police station," said an officer in the know of the development. Further details of the FIR are awaited.
The stampede occurred as thousands of fans gathered near the stadium to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2025 victory. The surge of the crowd reportedly led to chaos and panic, resulting in multiple casualties.
"News items have been published in various newspapers, narrating the tragedy that happened when 11 persons died and 75 were injured during the course of the victory celebration of RCB. This court is taking cognisance of the incident," the high court said.
"Senior Advocate Arun Shyam submitted that two events took place at Vidhana Souda and the stadium, let them give details of where the ambulances were deployed," the court said.
According to the police, around 50,000 people were within a 1-kilometre radius and the number just kept increasing.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased were youths, including men and women, with several of them being students.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday turned emotional over the loss of lives in to the stampede and said that Bengaluru has lost its image due to the incident that claimed 11 lives.
Reacting to allegations by the opposition that police had not given permission for celebrations, he said, " I don't want to react to any of these BJP guys. I am only answerable to the people of Karnataka and people of the country. All BJP persons are nonsense... They are also the mastermind of these dirty things."
He also accused that the opposition BJP and JD(S) are playing politics on dead bodies and said that the state government has taken full responsibility for the incident.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday demanded the resignation of chief minister Siddaramaiah and the deputy CM, holding the Congress government in the state responsible for the Bengaluru stampede.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the "mutual fight and rift" between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar led to the state "government-manufactured stampede".
He recalled last year's arrest of Telugu actor Allu Arjun in a stampede case in Telangana, where the Congress is in power, and asked if the party would follow the same rule in Karnataka and arrest its two senior leaders.
Demanding accountability on the incident, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) state youth president Hanumapura, in a letter to the police commissioner, alleged that the deaths were "due to gross negligence, lack of crowd control, and mismanagement on the part of the KSCA."
"The loss of these lives (was)... entirely avoidable had proper safety measures and protocols been in place," Hanumapura stated in his letter.
The state home minister G Parameshwara said on Thursday that the Karnataka government will formulate a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mega events, meetings and celebrations aimed at preventing any untoward incidents.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said that the government will take strict measures identifying the lapses that led to the stampede near the stadium, where a large number of people had thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations.
"Aimed at preventing such incidents, the government, the home department will formulate a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). We will give instructions that from now on any mega events, meetings and celebrations, should be held within the framework of the directions issued by the police department," Parameshwara said.
A new SOP will be formulated to ensure that such incidents never happen in the future, he said.
"Such deaths shouldn't happen, innocents should not die, looking at the dead bodies it pains anyone....many of them were youngsters in 20-25 years of age. They came happily to celebrate, they wouldn't have expected to lose their lives. We will take strict measures identifying the lapses," he added....
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