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Karnataka now blames police for Bengaluru stampede
Karnataka government shifts blame for RCB stampede from organizers to police, citing failures in security and permission protocols during event.
The Karnataka government on Wednesday told the high court that its own police were at fault for the stampede at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory celebrations on June 4 that killed 11 people and injured over 50 others, changing its previous position that 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.
The above submissions come less than six weeks after the government, in a status report filed before another division bench of the court, in a connected suo motu PIL, defended the police’s action and their response to the stampede as swift and necessary, and placed the entire blame on RCB.
The state’s status report held RCB, event management company DNA, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association responsible for the huge crowd that gathered at the Stadium. It said RCB took a “unilateral” decision to hold the event without police consultation or necessary permissions. The report further highlighted RCB’s failure to follow legal protocols, misleading “free entry” social media posts, and said all of these along with poor gate and crowd management by RCB, DNA, and KSCA led to chaos and the consequent stampede.
“It is pertinent to note that a mere intimation was given by the organisers; there was no requisition for permissions in the prescribed format, nor was any necessary information provided to the concerned departments to anticipate the gathering and make adequate preparations,” that report stated.
However, on Thursday, the state made a U-turn and came hard on the police. “As if they (police) are servants of RCB, they start making bandobast security arrangements without asking who permitted (the event). The Police Commissioner onwards, all start making bandobast arrangements. They forget one simple issue, that they have not permitted (the victory celebrations). What prevented them from issuing written order (preventing the event)? If they refused, why did they start making bandobast arrangements instead of issuing prohibitory order?” senior counsel PS Rajagopal, appearing for the state, asked.
Rajagopal then justified the state’s decision to suspend five police officers, including the then Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda. The senior counsel said the officers were suspended as a consequence of “dereliction of duty.”
The officers, the state government said, failed to take steps to inform the public about safety measures,discuss the issue with “higher ups,” and they caused “embarrassment.”
The state made the submissions during the hearing on its appeal filed earlier this month challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) July 1 order quashing Indian Police Service officer Vikash Kumar Vikash’s suspension following the stampede.
CAT in its order, called Vikash’s suspension “mechanical” and unsupported by sufficient material. It criticised the state for acting without due process and ordered the immediate reinstatement of Vikash, who was removed as the additional police commissioner after the stampede.
It said the police had no prior notice of RCB’s victory parade, which triggered the stampede. It blamed RCB for unilaterally announcing the event via Instagram without informing the authorities.
The tribunal ordered the State to immediately reinstate Vikash and suggested it extend the same relief to the other four suspended officials as well.
On Thursday, both the state government and RCB, which too has challenged the CAT order, claimed the police had the power to prevent the tragedy but failed to do so.
Rajagopal also took exception to the Tribunal’s remark that police personnel are human beings, not “God or magicians” and said the observations made for an “excellent story” fit to be told to “grandchildren by grandparents,” but the Tribunal has no business making such observations.
Senior counsel Dhyan Chinappa, who appeared for Vikash, however, objected to the state’s submissions and said the police had done all they could have in the face of such an unprecedented tragedy.
Chinappa also said he was “surprised” at the stand taken by the state government before the present bench given that it had taken an “entirely different stand” on the police before the bench hearing the suo motu PIL as well as the tribunal.
The high court will continue hearing Chinappa’s arguments on July 18.
On 4 June , following RCB’s IPL win, a massive crowd of over 3 lakh 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. In its status report and previous proceedings, the state said RCB was solely responsible for the huge crowd and the consequent stampede.
