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On Bengaluru stampede, Karnataka high court asks 9 key questions from state govt
The bench also questioned the existence of a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage gatherings of over 50,000 people for sporting events.
As the controversy and probe around the June 4 tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium intensified, the Karnataka High Court reportedly demanded answers to nine key questions from the state government.
The court’s intervention follows a suo motu writ petition filed in response to the shocking incident, and it asked the Karnataka government to file its replies to the High Court by June 10 on the matter.
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The Karnataka high court bench, comprising acting chief justice V Kameswar Rao and justice CM Joshi, demanded answers to nine key questions from the state government, according to the PTI news agency.
What are the 9 questions?
- Who authorised the RCB victory celebration event?
- When and how was the decision made?
- Whether the organisers obtain the necessary permissions?
- What measures were taken to control traffic around the venue?
- What arrangements were made to manage the crowd?
- What medical and emergency facilities were available on-site?
- Was there an estimate made of the number of attendees beforehand?
- Were the injured given prompt medical aid at the venue? If not, why?,
- How much time elapsed before the injured were transported to hospitals?
Apart from the questions about the event, the bench also questioned the existence of a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage gatherings of over 50,000 people for sporting events and public celebrations of this scale.
Bengaluru stampede
The stampede occurred on June 4 in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations. 11 people died and 56 were injured in the incident.
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In the aftermath of the incident, the state government suspended five senior police officials, including Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda.
The suspensions came after high-level deliberations involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior cabinet ministers, Legal Advisor AS Ponnana, and Advocate General K M Shashikiran Shetty.
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Political and official sources indicated that these tough questions and the judicial scrutiny may have triggered the state government's decision to suspend five senior police officers, including Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda.
(with PTI inputs)
