Police reacts to stampede [Source: @BJP4Karnataka, @incredible_bharat_now
/X.com]
In a sensational revelation, an anonymous police official from Karnataka claimed that RCB and the state government were advised to delay their victory parade in the city as the emotions of fans were high. Had the franchise paid heed to it, the deadly stampede that killed 11 innocent lives could have been avoided.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first IPL trophy in 2025 edition, and to celebrate the historic victory with their fans, the entire team touched down in Bengaluru the next day, that is on June 4.
They were supposed to hold an open bus victory parade followed by celebrations inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, chaos erupted outside the stadium as an uncontrollable crowd led to a deadly stampede.
Police Advisory Ignored By RCB And Karnataka Government?
According to the Deccan Herald, Karnataka police reportedly discouraged RCB from holding the victory procession in the city on Wednesday, as the emotions of fans were high after the IPL 2025 final win.
"We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down. We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there," the police source said.
They instead handed over permission for Sunday, but the franchise argued that their international contingent would fly out of the country before that. The police also said that their forces were overburdened as their duty was extended until 5:30 AM on the day of the final.
"Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow. Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of it. If the government had refused, that would have led to another kind of chaos. On Tuesday, till 5.30 am, all our staff - from the police commissioner to constables - were on the streets and completely exhausted. It was total madness. This kind of frenzy we have never seen," he added.
RCB decided to cancel the victory parade at the last hour, but the damage was already done. A large crowd gathered outside the Chinnaswamy Ground, which led to a stampede, killing 11 innocent and young fans.
The franchise put out a statement later saying they amended their program after learning about the developments outside the stadium and followed all public protocols.
The Karnataka government and BCCI also refused to take accountability, saying they couldn't have foreseen such a huge crowd.