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Bengaluru Police denied permission, RCB victory parade took place amid confusion
The Bengaluru police had denied permission for RCB’s victory parade, but the team went ahead with it anyway.
The Bengaluru stampede killed 11 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and questions are being raised over the victory parade of the IPL champions.
The Bengaluru event was planned to begin at Vidhan Soudha and conclude at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, covering a distance of less than 2 km. This led to a massive crowd gathering in a confined area. The situation was further complicated by the police refusing permission for an open-top bus parade, adding to the overall chaos.
RCB posted on the team’s social media on Wednesday afternoon that the parade would indeed take place at 5 PM, hours after the police denied permission. The team also announced limited free passes online.
The mixed messaging might have contributed to the chaos and the eventual stampede, as many fans landed outside the stadium to get the free passes.
According to the Police, more than 50,000 fans had gathered within a one-kilometre radius of the stadium, and many of them tried to push through the gates and climb barriers installed by the authorities.
“The crowd was beyond our control. Even though we had deployed force, it was too much,” a senior officer told HT.
It must be noted that the reason given for the denial of parade permission was that such a large crowd in a small area would be difficult to manage for the cops.
Former cricketer blames RCB management for the stampede
Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal has blamed the RCB management for the chaos that erupted outside the stadium. According to the 1983 world champion, the BCCI cannot be blamed for the incident. He also questioned who would look after the families of the deceased.
“BCCI cannot be blamed. It was RCB's responsibility, they should have worked together with the government. Who will look after the families who lost someone during the stampede?” he said.
Lal also questioned the hurry in the celebrations and said there was a big communication gap on the side of the organisers.
“All that joy and celebration now feels hollow and ruined. There was absolutely no need to fly RCB in and organise a celebration in such haste. What was the need for such a hurried celebration? There was a big communication gap. Sadly, in our country, human lives continue to be undervalued,” he added.
