Bengaluru stadium stampede: How lack of clarity on social media left RCB fans confused

The police department’s attempt to inform the public that there will not be a parade did not prove effective despite the Home Minister himself speaking on television channels and saying that there will be no parade.

Bengaluru

Of the many things that went wrong on June 4, when the stampede occurred during the victory celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), tragically killing 11 persons, the most important one was glaring gaps in social media communication. Throughout the day, various updates that were put out by the social media page of RCB conflicted with the communication provided by the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) and Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), leading to confusion among fans. 

“When I woke up, I saw that RCB had announced a victory parade and decided that I would participate in it. In a few hours, I saw again on social media that the police had denied permission for the parade. A few minutes later, there were clips that showed the bus that was supposed to be used for the parade being decorated and even interviews with the crew of the bus. The RCB account also announced shortly after that the parade was back on, and hence, I came near the stadium,” said Nisarga Shivakumar, who was near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium June 4. 

For many years now, every time an image of a huge crowd of a big football club’s fans or a concert popped up on social media, RCB fans would share those images with the captions “Majestic when RCB wins” or “Bengaluru streets when RCB wins”. So, the idea of a crowd gathering for a victory celebration had long been on fans’ mind in the event of RCB winning the final. This fantasy, coupled with RCB’s announcements, led fans to believe that a victory parade was definitely going to take place.  

The police department’s attempt to inform the public that there will not be a parade did not prove effective despite the Home Minister himself speaking on television channels and saying that there will be no parade. 

The BCP’s official X account did not post any details about the events that will be held, or will not be held, on June 4, whereas the BTP posted that there will be a special felicitation ceremony in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and only those with tickets or passes would be let inside, by 2.44 p.m.

Significantly, around 3 p.m., RCB yet again said that the victory parade was back on.