‘Shortage of staff, CCTV’: Bengaluru Police red-flagged risks of RCB event hours before stampede, say reports

Several reports emerged on Sunday, claiming that a Karnataka police official had warned of the risks of holding a felicitation ceremony for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Vidhana Soudha.

Despite the warning, the government went ahead with it on June 4 and held the event in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The event was first supposed to take place on the grand steps of the state legislative assembly building.

A letter dated June 4, accessed by the Times of India and NDTV, showed that senior police officer MN Karibasavana Gowda had warned of security concerns and flagged it to the Department of Personnel and Administrative reforms (DPAR).

Gowda had reportedly said there was an acute shortage of officers and personnel. According to TOI, he told DPAR head G Satyavathi that this will severely hamper security arrangements (bandobast) for such a large-scale event.

"Lakhs of cricket fans are likely to come to Vidhana Soudha. Since there is a shortage of security personnel, making bandobast will be a problem," MN Karibasavana Gowda, in-charge of security at the legislature, wrote to DPAR secretary G Sathyavathi.

In the letter, Gowda also pointed to the venue's sensitive status and lack of adequate CCTV coverage.

DPAR official Sathyavathi, who was overseeing arrangements at Vidhana Soudha steps, then publicly urged fans to head to the stadium instead - a short distance away.

"The team was feted at the legislature and the celebrations then moved on to the stadium. But fears of overcrowding had set in well in advance," the TOI reported.

Despite the warning, the celebrations over the RCB's first-ever victory in the IPL game was allegedly rushed through — less than 24 hours after the final match — without proper crowd control or safety protocols, the report added.

Sources told TOI that Vidhana Soudha's Deputy Commissioner of Police's (DCP) note was also shared with then Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, who in turn flagged it to chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh. But permissions were still granted.

What happened next?

Later, in the evening of June 4, lakhs of cricket and RCB fans thronged the street outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for the victory celebrations, leading to a stampede that claimed 11 lives.

The stampede took place ahead of RCB team's felicitation after winning their Indian Premier League (IPL) title by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a tight final on Tuesday.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah recently ordered an increase in the compensation announced for the families of those who died in the stampede to ₹25 lakh each. The government had earlier announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh each.

The top senior officials of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Secretary A Shankar and Treasurer ES Jairam, tendered their resignations, taking "moral responsibility" for the stampese.

On June 5, Siddaramaiah had announced that a one-man commission would be formedto look into the procedural lapses in the issue, and the commission has been asked to give the report in 30 days.