Karnataka cabinet accepts judicial panel report on RCB stampede

The government said it is now preparing to initiate legal and departmental action against those held responsible for the tragedy

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday formally accepted the findings of a judicial commission that investigated the stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory parade that killed 11 people and injured another 70 last month.

On 4 June, following RCB’s IPL win, a massive crowd of over 300,000 people gathered near and around Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for a victory parade and celebration. (PTI)

The government said it is now preparing to initiate legal and departmental action against those held responsible for the tragedy, including senior police officials and top organisers of the event.

“The cabinet has decided to accept justice John Michael D’Cunha’s report and take legal action on its basis,” Karnataka law and parliamentary affairs minister HK Patil said.

The cabinet note indicates that the action will be directed at individuals and private organisations involved in organising the June 4 event, including RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and DNA Entertainment Networks.

Specific individuals were named in the note for action, including KSCA president Raghuram Bhat, former president A Shankar, former treasurer Jayaram ES, Rajesh Menon of RCB., and Venkata Vardhan of DNA Entertainment Networks, which managed the event.

“Action will be taken,” against them, the cabinet note said, without specifying the precise legal steps that will follow.

The development comes days after the Karnataka government told the high court that its own police were at fault for the stampede, changing its previous position that the IPL franchise RCB was to blame.

The state argued before a bench of Justices SG Pandit and TM Nadaf that the police should have formally objected to the event and that they should have refused to provide security for the event since no official permission was granted for it. The police reports to the state government.

On 4 June, following RCB’s IPL win, a massive crowd of over 300,000 people gathered near and around Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for a victory parade and celebration. As per the state, the stadium has a capacity of only 35,000.

The report prepared by retired high court judge John Michael Cunha found that the organisers failed to obtain mandatory permissions and ignored safety protocols. It held Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd., DNA Entertainment Networks, and KSCA accountable for conducting the parade without requisite licenses or coordination with the police.

“The organisers were duty bound to obtain prior permission… but failed to obtain the requisite permission license [and] failed to follow the procedures,” the report said. Despite knowing the event was unauthorised, senior police officers allowed it to proceed without adequate arrangements, the commission added.

The report named Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, additional commissioner (west) Vikash Kumar Vikash, deputy commissioner of police HT Shekhar, and assistant commissioner of police C Balakrishna for their failure to act and manage the crowd. Both Dayananda and Vikash have already been suspended, and the cabinet has now ordered departmental inquiries against officers named in the report.

Vikash had challenged his suspension before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which reserved its verdict after hearing the matter. In its order, the tribunal, comprising justice BK Shrivastava and Santhosh Mehra, observed that the June 5 suspension was issued in a “mechanical manner” and noted that there was no “convincing material to show any default or negligence” on the part of the suspended police officers at the time.

Justice Cunha’s report said that the stampede was a result of mismanagement, lack of planning, and deliberate negligence. “Stampede was triggered by the organisers themselves by not regulating the entry into the gates and making reckless announcements… which in the opinion of the commission is the root cause for the stampede and the consequent death and injuries,” the report noted.

On the day of the incident, thousands of fans arrived at the stadium after RCB posted an open invite on social media. However, there were no clear instructions on how to enter, leading to congestion. The commission said neither the organisers nor the police attempted to control the growing crowds. It also found that police officers were working under the command of the commissioner in coordination with the event organisers even before official arrangements had been finalised.

The physical infrastructure of the venue was also found to be inadequate. “All the entry and exit gates were directly opening into the public footpath… there were no organised holding areas,” the report noted.

Security deployment was poor. Of the 515 personnel reportedly deployed, only 79 were stationed at the gates. Ambulances were parked far from the venue, and there was no casualty reception centre or medical base nearby. Misleading announcements and narrow entry points further worsened the situation. “The absence of coordinated messaging and reliable updates prevented effective crowd management and contributed directly to the uncontrolled surge at various gates,” the report said.

The commission urged the government to enforce stringent guidelines for future public events and avoid hosting mass gatherings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium unless its infrastructure is overhauled. “Until such infrastructural changes are made, continuing to host high attendance events at the current location poses unacceptable risks to public safety, urban mobility and emergency preparedness,” the report warned.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress government in Karnataka of attempting to deflect blame in the aftermath of the stampede. Responding to the findings of an internal inquiry, which reportedly faulted the RCB management for the chaos, BJP MLA and deputy Leader of the Opposition Aravind Bellad countered that the event was not just organised by the franchise but also promoted heavily by the Congress leadership and government officials.

“It’s not only RCB that invited people, a huge number of people came on the invitation of the Congress, (deputy chief minister) DK Shivakumar and government officials, the DPAR secretary came on TV and invited people, the government is solely responsible for this,” Bellad said.

Raising questions about the government’s decision to suspend police officers for alleged lapses in crowd control, Bellad demanded an apology from chief minister Siddarmaiah to the former Bengaluru police commissioner.

“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,” he said.