How did celebration of RCB’s historic win in IPL spiral into chaos and crisis? | Explained

The situation spiralled out of control when fans, eager to be part of the celebration, rushed to the already packed gates of Chinnaswamy stadium, demanding entry. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people, police personnel struggled to manage the crowd. Chaos broke out as fans jumped barricades, trampled one another, and triggered a deadly stampede, according to police.

The tragic stampede at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy stadium, which claimed the lives of 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans, has snowballed into a major political and administrative crisis. Among those facing the heat is MLC K. Govindaraj, who has been removed from his post as Political Secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Several senior police officials, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, have been suspended by the government.

What was meant to be a moment of historic celebration, RCB’s first IPL title win in 18 years, has turned into one of the State’s worst crowd-control disasters in recent times. Instead of jubilation, the incident has left the Congress-led Karnataka government grappling with outrage, questions over mismanagement, and demands for accountability.

Though a judicial probe and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe have been ordered, serious concerns remain about what exactly led to the deadly chaos and whether it could have been prevented.

A day after RCB’s triumph on June 3, lakhs of fans thronged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and also the Vidhana Soudha where the government of Karnataka had organised a separate felicitation event for the RCB team.

However, the sheer size of the crowd — reportedly over two lakh people — quickly overwhelmed the capacity of the stadium, which can accommodate just 32,000 persons, triggering a chaotic stampede at the gates.

In the resulting chaos, 11 persons — all under the age of 40 — lost their lives, and at least 50 others sustained injuries. Medical reports confirmed that all the fatalities were caused by asphyxia, a condition resulting from a lack of oxygen.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acknowledged the massive crowd surge and has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. However, serious questions are being raised about the crowd control measures in place, and how such a catastrophic failure in planning occurred.