Chinnaswamy Stadium Tragedy: Police Top Brass Axed, High Court Steps In

The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to submit a detailed status report by June 10 on the stampede that turned Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory parade into a tragedy. Eleven people—all under 40, including a 13-year-old girl—were crushed to death outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and over 50 were injured. The court’s intervention, taken up suo motu, adds a legal frame to what has swiftly become a political crisis.

On June 6, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suspended five senior police officers, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and ADGP-ranked Additional Commissioner (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash. The move was unprecedented, not just for its swiftness but for the seniority of those axed. Never before in Karnataka’s recent memory has a Commissioner of Bengaluru been relieved in this fashion.

The stampede unfolded outside multiple entry points, with Gate 7 bearing the worst. That morning, RCB had announced a victory celebration, promising fans free access to see the players. The call, amplified on social media, drew 200,000 to 300,000 people—six to eight times the stadium’s capacity. With no barcode passes, no staggered entry, and no meaningful crowd control, the result was panic, surge, collapse.

To deflect growing public anger, the government ordered arrests of key functionaries from RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and event manager DNA Entertainment Networks. It also constituted a one-man judicial commission, headed by retired High Court Justice Michael D’Cunha, to investigate the lapses.

But these quick-fire responses have only deepened the backlash. BJP Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka accused the Congress-led government of “hiding behind the uniforms of honest officers”. Former bureaucrats and police officials have joined the chorus, arguing that Dayananda’s suspension punishes efficiency, not negligence. Online, hashtags like #IStandWithBDayananda trended across the state, turning a disciplinary action into a public referendum.

Some of the details coming to light suggest that the police may not even have been looped in before the event was publicly announced. According to reports, top police officers were informed about the parade only after RCB tweeted it. Planning meetings were convened late, and security deployment fell woefully short.

RCB, in its official statement, expressed “deep anguish” over the deaths. The franchise has offered ₹10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and ₹1 lakh to those injured. It has also launched a fund called “RCB Cares” to provide continuing assistance. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, the team’s most visible icon, left the country the day after the tragedy without issuing a public apology or visiting the victims’ families—an absence that has not gone unnoticed in a city where he commands fervent loyalty.

KSCA has approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against it. In its petition, the association claims it merely rented out the stadium and played no role in organising or overseeing the event. Its lawyers argue that liability cannot be extended to landlords, particularly when the event was not coordinated through formal channels.

The D’Cunha Commission will now attempt to answer a set of difficult, but necessary, questions: Who authorised the event? Why was the police caught unprepared? Was there a written protocol for entry and crowd dispersal? The larger question, however, is not logistical but ethical: when institutions fail, who bears the weight? Eleven families are now in mourning not because of a terrorist attack or freak accident, but because civic responsibility gave way to showmanship. The moment was scripted for celebration. It ended in grief. As political tempers flare and police morale dips, the city waits uneasily for answers. The RCB jersey, draped in pride just a week ago, now carries the stain of what went wrong.

 

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