The Karnataka government on Thursday pointed to serious lapses and mismanagement from the franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which claimed 11 lives and injured more than 50 people, in its status report submitted to the high court.
At about 6.30 pm, just hours before the IPL final between RCB and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Ahmedabad, the Karnataka State Cricket Association on behalf of DNA Networks Pvt Ltd submitted a letter of intimation to the Cubbon Park police station, said the report.
"Should RCB emerge victorious in the tournament, the management of RCB/DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited intends to plan potential victory parades around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, culminating in victory celebrations at the stadium. This was in the nature of an intimation, not a requisition for permission as required under the law," the report said.
The police denied permission due to the lack of critical information, such as estimated crowd size, event logistics, and crowd control measures. The proposal was also made on short notice.
Despite police denial, RCB proceeded to promote the event. On June 4, they shared invitations on social media, including a video appeal by Virat Kohli, encouraging fans to attend the free-entry celebration.
“Subsequently, on 04.06.2025, at 8:55 am, the RCB shared a video clip of Virat Kohli, a prominent player of the RCB team, on RCB's official handle @ Rcbtweets on X, in which he stated that the team intended to celebrate this victory with the people of Bengaluru city and RCB fans on 04.06.2025 in Bengaluru,” the report said.
This post was the first to mention that free passes were available online, but it came after large crowds had already started gathering.
The posts accumulated viewership figures of 16 lakh, 4.26 lakh, 7.6 lakh, and 17 lakh.
"Therefore, including those who travelled on foot, used public transport, and private means on June 4, the estimated gathering would be well beyond three lakh individuals," the statement said.
The report emphasised that the organisers never sought police permission in the prescribed format as mandated by the Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Processions (Bangalore City) Order, 2009.
Aravind Bellad, BJP MLA and deputy leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said the government wanted to take credit after the RCB's IPL victory after 18 years, but has now started blaming the franchisee and cricket star Virat Kohli for the stampede deaths.
"It's not only RCB that invited people, a huge number of people came on the invitation of the Congress, DK Shivakumar and government officials, the DPAR secretary came on TV and invited people, the government is solely responsible for this," Bellad said.
"If the report says RCB is solely responsible, why did the government suspend police officers? The Chief Minister should apologise to the former police commissioner. If there was an intimation by RCB that they will hold the event, then the government should have refused permission. They had all the right to say this event cannot be held. Just to take credit for the victory, the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister invited people. To now put the blame on a great player like Virat Kohli or RCB is wrong," the BJP leader added.
The report also explained why the state government did not call off the victory parade after the stampede. It says abruptly shutting down the victory celebrations at the stadium "could potentially incite violence among the gathered crowd and adversely affect overall law and order across the city".
"...a measured response was taken by curtailing the duration of the function. Instead of complete termination, a measured approach was adopted by allowing the event to proceed with significantly curtailed duration and enhanced monitoring," it said.
The report concluded that RCB, DNA Networks, and KSCA ignored standard procedures and safety measures, leading to violations and potential public safety risks.
On June 4, eleven people died and several more were injured in a stampede outside Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy stadium as a huge crowd of nearly 3 lakh people had gathered to witness the victory celebration of RCB for winning the Indian Premier League.
Following the incident, the Karnataka government suspended top police officials at the Cubbon Park Police Station on June 5 and formed a one-man commission under a retired High Court Judge to probe the incident.