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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on June 8, Sunday distanced his government from the stampede in which 11 people were killed near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Indian Premier League (IPL) victory celebrations on June 4. The Chief Minister stated that the event at the stadium was not a government-organised programme and faulted the police department for inadequate security arrangements.
He said that the Karnataka State Cricket Association had invited everyone for the event.
“The BJP and JDS are making politically motivated allegations in the stampede incident at the RCB celebrations,” Siddaramaiah said. “The government has taken action against the police officers concerned based on the prima facie information. A judicial inquiry has been ordered as demanded by the BJP and JDS. Similarly, action has been taken against the police.”
According to the CM, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) had issued conditional permission for the event at Vidhana Soudha, and it was the duty of the police to ensure security based on those conditions. “No untoward incident took place on the Vidhana Soudha premises. A stampede occurred at the Chinnaswamy Stadium program. The police should have provided adequate security here,” he said.
Siddaramaiah added that five police officers have been suspended, and the intelligence chief as well as his political secretary have been replaced. “Although the government has not done anything wrong, the incident is saddening,” he said.
The Chief Minister said he was informed about the stampede only at 5:45 pm, more than an hour after the first injured had been admitted to hospital at 3.50 pm. “The police department did not provide comprehensive information about the police security arrangements at the venue of the event. It was not a government event at Chinnaswamy Stadium, and I was not even invited to it.”
Sources told The News Minute that the Chief Minister was upset about not being made aware of a letter written by the Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) Vidhana Soudha Security, MN Karibasavana Gouda, hours before the Vidhana Soudha felicitation event, warning against the scale of the celebrations. The matter came up during a closed-door meeting held on Sunday, June 8, which included Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Home Minister G Parameshwara, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, and DPAR Secretary G Sathyavathi.
The meeting also discussed the state's legal strategy ahead of the next Karnataka High Court hearing on June 10.
Defending the state’s response, Siddaramaiah said, “The government has not taken any wrong step in this case, and since legal action has been taken against the guilty, there is no question of embarrassment for the government.” Drawing comparisons, he added, “Did the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh resign when the bridge collapsed at the Kumbh Mela and people died? Did the BJP and JDS demand the resignation of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh?”
Responding to the political backlash, he said the BJP’s criticism was contradictory. “The state BJP is now blaming the government after the incident. Earlier they said that RCB has made a dream of many years come true, and not allowing the procession in an open bus shows the inadequacy of the Home Minister. This shows the duplicity of the state BJP.”
The Karnataka BJP has demanded that a special session of the state legislature be convened for three days to discuss the stampede.
The state government is also considering relocating the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium to a different location to prevent such incidents in future. Answering whether the government would consider relocating the 'lower-capacity cricket stadium' elsewhere, the CM said the government will look into it. “Such an unpleasant incident should not happen under any government. Personally, this incident has hurt me and the government,” the Chief Minister said.
The stampede occurred as lakhs of fans gathered near Chinnaswamy Stadium to celebrate RCB's maiden IPL title win. The Karnataka High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and has scheduled the next hearing for June 10.