Who decided to hold RCB victory celebration? Karnataka HC asks govt nine questions on Bengaluru stampede

Amid intense pressure from all quarters, the Karnataka government ordered a magisterial inquiry and suspended top police officials, including Bengaluru’s Police Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, and other senior officers.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Saturday, June 7 pulled up the Congress government over the tragic stampede during RCB's celebration at Chinnaswamy stadium on June 4. The stampede resulted in the death of 11 fans, most of them teenagers. Following the incident, the court took suo moto cognizance and heard the case. A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice CM Joshi posed nine key questions to the state government

Questions posed by Karnataka HC

1. Who decided to hold the victory celebration?

2. When and how was the celebration supposed to happen?

3. Was any permission sought to organise the event?

4. Was there any SOP (standard operating procedure) formulated to manage a crowd of 50,000?

5. What steps were taken to regulate the traffic?

6. What steps were taken for crowd control?

7. What medical facilities were arranged at the venue?

8. Were the injured given prompt medical care at the venue? If not, why?

9. How much time was taken to take the injured to the hospitals?

Pressure builds on Karnataka govt

Amid intense pressure from all quarters, the Karnataka government ordered a magisterial inquiry and suspended top police officials, including Bengaluru’s Police Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, and other senior officers. The Chief Minister also confirmed that a one-man commission, headed by retired High Court judge Justice Michael D’Cunha, has been appointed to probe the incident in detail. Two senior officials of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) have also stepped down. 

Additionally, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s political secretary, Govindaraj, has been dismissed. Despite these resignations and suspensions, no minister or high-ranking government official has taken moral responsibility. CM Siddaramaiah, Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara, and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar continue to remain in office.