NEW DELHI: At least 11 people died and 33 others were injured as a stampede occurred at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after a large number of people gathered to participate in the RCB victory celebrations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “absolutely heartrending” and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured people. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah held a press conference and announced Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the kin of those deceased. He also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. How chaos & tragedy unfoldedWhat was meant to be a day of jubilation turned tragic as a massive crowd gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title win. Scattered shoes, broken sandals, and torn pieces of sports jerseys littered the area, marking the aftermath of the chaos that unfolded when crowds spiralled out of control.Lakhs of young fans had converged outside the stadium with “RCB” chanting. Many were seen climbing trees, scaling walls, and clinging to poles in a desperate attempt to catch a glimpse of their cricketing idols.As excitement peaked, the situation turned dangerous. People began to fall, some losing consciousness. Panic spread quickly as the jubilant cheers turned into screams for help. Emergency services rushed the injured to nearby hospitals. Even amid the unfolding tragedy, groups of young fans were seen sitting atop compound walls near Saint Mark’s Cathedral, cheering for RCB as sirens wailed and police tried to restore order.Despite a heavy deployment of police personnel, the sheer scale of the crowd overwhelmed security arrangements. Officials acknowledged they were heavily outnumbered by the surging masses.
‘Absolutely heartrending,’ says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the stampede in Bengaluru as “absolutely heartrending”. In a post on X, he said, “The mishap in Bengaluru is absolutely heartrending. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those who are injured have a speedy recovery.”President Droupadi Murmu also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in a stampede and called the incident ‘shocking and heartbreaking’. In a social media post on X, Droupadi Murmu wrote, “The loss of lives in the tragic happening at a stadium in Bengaluru is shocking and heartbreaking. My condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured.”CM Siddaramaiah on stampede Chief minister Siddaramaiah, while addressing a press conference gave details of the incident, saying that 11 lives were lost and 33 others were reported injured. He added that the stadium has capacity of hosting 35,000 people, but around two or three lakh people gathered to witness the event, and the crowd was unexpected. “11 are dead and 33 injured due to stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. More than 2-3 lakh people came, and no one expected this much crowd,” Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said at a press conference.Further, the CM said that he would not justify the mishap but drew comparisons with similar tragedies elsewhere, like in Kumbh Mela, as BJP criticised his government for the tragedy.’50-60 people died in Kumbh Mela, did I or Karnataka govt criticise?,’ says CM“Such incidents happened in so many places. I am not going to defend this by comparing it with them now by saying it happened here and there. In Kumbh Mela, 50-60 people died, I didn’t criticise it,” he said.“If Congress criticises, then that is a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?” CM Siddaramaiah said.BCCI on RCB celebrations leading to death of fansThe BCCI called the incident shocking adding that the organisers should have been better-prepared.“It’s most unfortunate, organisers should have planned RCB’s IPL-winning celebrations better,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI.“When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions and security measures need to be taken,” he added.IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said, “Whatever inquiry that needs to be done, the concerned authorities will do that. It was not a BCCI event. It is sad and tragic.”‘Fans thronged the venue’According to eyewitnesses, fans thronged the venue of felicitation. Visuals showed police shifting the injured persons and those who had fallen unconscious to ambulances.Cops were seen using mild force to manage the crowd outside stadium. They had a tough time in crowd management as a large number of cricket enthusiasts tried to gain entry, at the same time, into the stadium.According to a traffic advisory from the Bengaluru police, entry to Chinnaswamy Stadium was limited to only those with valid tickets and passes. “As there is limited parking facility available near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, those who are attending the event are advised to use public transport and Metro. The public is requested to cooperate,” it had said.Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra arrived at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital to meet the injured people. ‘They were more interested in publicity,’ BJP slams state government over preparedness “The state government should take full responsibility for this tragedy. When the whole country and Karnataka were celebrating RCB’s victory, the state government’s haste to hold a victory rally without any prior preparations led to this tragedy. The state government never cared about prior preparations. They were more interested in publicity. This resulted in the death of more than 11 people. Some people are in ICU. I spoke to some victims, there was no police inside, no ambulance facility. The CM should send the matter for judicial investigation,” Vijayendra said. The IPL champions and several political leaders, including Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah marked their presence at the victory parade.Also read: Tragedy at RCB’s IPL 2025 victory parade: KSCA, franchise break silence on stamped
