The anatomy of a stampede in Bengaluru Premium

RCB's IPL victory parade in Bengaluru turns tragic with a stampede, leaving 11 dead and 56 injured.

Since 2008, when the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off, the fans of the team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have pined for the elusive cup, chanting “ee sala cup namde” (the cup will be ours this time). As RCB finally won on the night of June 3 in Ahmedabad, an unprecedented fan frenzy broke out on the streets of Bengaluru. Thousands of youth gathered on the streets dancing and chanting a modified version of their slogan — “Ee sala cup namdu” (the cup is ours this time).

With heady joy came rowdy behaviour. Those on the road blocked traffic, forced truck drivers to get down and dance or honk continuously, so that they could dance to the rhythm. There were even reports of ambulances being stuck amid this raucous celebration. The Bengaluru City Police, even after deploying all their resources, had a tough time controlling the midnight mayhem. It was like the City never slept that night. 

Minutes after winning the match, RCB player Virat Kohli, who has been with the team since its first edition, announced that the team would “paint Bengaluru red tomorrow.” With this, the stage was set and expectations raised high for a big bash with the team in Bengaluru the next day.

Everyone seemed to want a moment in the sun and bask in the team’s glory. As the Congress-led Karnataka government jumped on the bandwagon with the RCB team franchise, their event managers and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), the reported advice of the police force to postpone the celebrations by a few days, citing lack of time to prepare, seems to have fallen on deaf ears. 

Also read: How what was to be a victory celebration ended in a tragedy

As lakhs of fans gathered on the streets of Bengaluru on June 4 to catch a glimpse of their favourite cricketers, chaos reigned and all hell broke loose. Even as the 17-year-long dream finally became a reality, in a cruel twist, 11 fans (ironically the size of a cricket team) lost their lives in a stampede at the gates of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the RCB team’s home ground. Over 56 were injured.

There was a great rush to fix accountability (and evade responsibility too) and heads began to roll. In an unprecedented move, the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner too was suspended.