Bengaluru stampede LIVE: Govt hikes compensation for kin of dead to Rs 25 lakh
Police complaint filed against Virat Kohli; judicial scrutiny may have triggered government’s decision to suspend five senior police officers
A Shankar and ES Jairam have resigned from their respective posts as secretary and treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), taking moral responsibility for the stampede that led to the death of 11 people during RCB's IPL trophy celebrations.
In a joint statement, Shankar and Jairam said they had submitted their resignations on Thursday night to the KSCA president. (Details on Live Buzz. Scroll down please.)
Kohli feels the heat
A police complaint has reportedly been lodged against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli in connection with the deadly stampede during the franchise's victory celebrations in Bengaluru. However, no FIR has been registered on his complaint yet.
The event, organised by a top event management company, saw record turnout, leading to chaos and a stampede as fans rushed to catch a glimpse of Kohli and other cricketers. Activist AM Venkatesh, a member of Naija Horatagaarara Vedikem, a Kannada organisation, filed the complaint.
Meanwhile, two additional cases have also been registered with the Cubbon Park police station regarding the stampede.
Some seek Kohli's arrest
The backlash has targeted not only the RCB management but also its star player Virat Kohli. Public anger has grown so intense that the hashtag #ArrestKohli trended on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, with many users seeking legal action against him.
Some slammed Kohli for flying to London a day soon after the tragedy. Public anger has grown so intense that the hashtag #ArrestKohli trended on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, with many users seeking legal action against him.
Other major recent developments
▶ Top RCB officials among 4 sent to jail for 14 days
▶ Crowd management event organiser's job: KSCA letter surfaces
▶ Siddaramaiah sacks his political secretary
▶ Intelligence head Hemant Nimbalkar transferred
▶ A clutch of FIRs filed against RCB, KSCA
▶ BJP delegation visits Cubbon Park police station, files complaint against CM, Dy CM
Also read | RCB stampede, an unfortunate reality check for cricket-crazy fans
Live Updates
- 8 Jun 2025 8:17 PM IST
CM Siddaramaiah: Government did not organise RCB event
"The secretary and treasurer of KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association) came and invited me to the event. We didn't organise the function, the KSCA did," Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters today.
"They also informed me that the Governor is also coming. I only went there. I don't know anything apart from that, I only went there after I was invited, they didn't invite me to the stadium," he added.
- 8 Jun 2025 1:35 PM IST
BJP holds protest at Vidhana Soudha
Karnataka BJP legislators and parliamentarians held a protest on Bengaluru on Sunday, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over the stampede in Bengaluru.
The protest held in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue within the Vidhana Soudha premises was led by the leader of opposition in legislative assembly and council R Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaseamy.
The BJP leaders called for legal action against the two senior Congress leaders, holding them directly responsible for the tragedy. They are also planning to meet Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot soon, seeking his intervention and calling for the dismissal of the government.
Hitting out at the government for suspending five police officers, including the then Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, in connection with the incident, Ashoka said, the BJP stands with the police and will fight for them, as there was no fault on part of the police.
The victory celebrations were organised despite police denying permission to it, he alleged. The loss of 11 lives is nothing but a “government-sponsored murder”.
The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister behaved like “brand ambassadors” for the RCB, the LoP said, despite deaths the victory celebration events were held.
Noting that police officials were suspended as they failed to inform the CM and Deputy CM about the deaths, Ashoka said news channels were providing live updates on the incident and deaths, the information were available on mobile phones.
“What were your PAs or secretaries or officials doing?” he fumed.
- 8 Jun 2025 11:21 AM IST
Police had warned govt about risks: Report
Police had warned the government about the risks of holding the grand felicitation ceremony for the RCB winning team around Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha, an official letter has reportedly revealed.
According to an India Today report, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Legislature Security) MN Karibasavana Gowda, in a letter addressed to G Sathyavathi, Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, and other top officials, on June 4, the very day of the incident, raised serious concerns about crowd management and manpower shortage.
Gowda reportedly wrote that with “lakhs of cricket fans expected to gather at Vidhana Soudha and a shortage of security personnel, managing the crowd will be a major challenge”.
He had suggested that all public entry passes to Vidhan Soudha on June 4 be suspended and the afternoon be declared a holiday to control the crowd. He had also flagged that Vidhana Soudha, being a heritage structure, lacked enough surveillance infrastructure.
Gowda had also highlighted that the stage being erected for the felicitation ceremony must undergo PWD safety inspections, stressed the need for an anti-drone system, and emphasised the need to urgently mobilise additional forces from outside the city.
- 8 Jun 2025 10:46 AM IST
CID launches probe
The state CID has reportedly started investigating the stampede at Chinnaswamy stadium, with the investigating officers inspecting the entry gates, the stadium, and the office on Sunday morning. - 8 Jun 2025 7:26 AM IST
CM hikes compensation to Rs 25 lakh
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has increased the compensation amount announced for the kin of the deceased in the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh per family, a statement from the CMO stated on Saturday. - 7 Jun 2025 7:01 PM IST
HC seeks govt response to 9 questions
The Karnataka High Court has reportedly directed the state government to submit detailed responses to nine critical questions by June 10.
1. Who authorised the RCB victory celebration event? When and how was the decision made?
2. Did the organisers obtain the necessary permissions?
3. Is there a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage gatherings of over 50,000 people for sporting events and public celebrations of this scale?
4. What measures were taken to control traffic around the venue?
5. What arrangements were made to manage the crowd?
6. What medical and emergency facilities were available on-site?
7. Was an estimate made of the number of attendees beforehand?
8. Were the injured given prompt medical aid at the venue? If not, why?
9. How much time elapsed before the injured were transported to hospitals?
A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi raised the queries on Thursday while hearing a suo-motu writ petition initiated by the court in connection with the June 4 stampede that killed 11 people.
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.
The suspensions reportedly followed high-level discussions involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior ministers, legal advisor AS Ponnana, and Advocate General KM Shashikiran Shetty.
- 7 Jun 2025 10:46 AM IST
KSCA secretary, treasurer quit
A Shankar and E S Jairam have resigned from their respective posts as secretary and treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), taking moral responsibility for the stampede that led to the death of 11 people during RCB's IPL trophy celebrations.
In a joint statement, Shankar and Jairam said they had submitted their resignations on Thursday night to the KSCA president.
"...due to the unforeseen and unfortunate events that have unfolded in the last two days, and though our role was very limited, we wish to state that we have tendered our resignation to our respective posts as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association," the statement read.
KSCA president Raghuram Bhat, secretary Shankar and treasurer Jayaram had submitted in the Karnataka High Court that the gate management and crowd management were not the responsibility of the association and they had sought permission to hold RCB IPL celebrations at Vidhan Soudha.
While the felicitation at the Vidhan Soudha passed off without any major glitch, chaos erupted outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium where lakhs converged following RCB's social media invitation, which was eventually deleted.
A planned victory parade had to be cancelled but the function inside the stadium proceeded despite the tragedy that unfolded outside.
- 7 Jun 2025 10:40 AM IST
What arrested RCB manager says
The marketing head of Royal Challengers Sports Ltd., Nikhil Sosale, has moved the Karnataka High Court challenging his arrest in connection with the stampede during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives and left about 75 injured.
In his petition, Sosale called his arrest arbitrary, illegal, and politically-motivated, and alleged that he was taken into custody based on oral instructions from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after a late-night Cabinet meeting
- 7 Jun 2025 7:06 AM IST
Karnataka BJP wants FIR against CM, Dy CM
Karnataka BJP general secretary P Rajeev has said he filed a police complaint seeking legal action against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and Home Minister G Parameshwara for the June 4 stampede that killed 11 people.
"For this human loss, accused number one is Siddaramiah and accused number two is D K Shivakumar. Both of them had a motive to take political gain (from RCB win). They misused power and because of them, deaths have happened. I have mentioned G Parameshwara as accused number three. According to me, he has no motive, but he was negligent and has failed as the Home Minister," Rajeev said.
Speaking to reporters after giving a complaint at the Cubbon Park police station here, he said the CM and his deputy will have to take moral responsibility for the tragedy.
"I have given the complaint copy to the ACP. It has to be converted into a FIR. If not, I will go to court on this and register a PCR. I urge for a transparent legal process," he added.
The former BJP MLA hit out at the government for suspending Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda and four other senior police officials in connection with the incident.
Alleging that Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had a motive of taking political gain from the RCB's IPL victory, he asked, "What does the government have to do with the RCB? Why was public money spent on RCB's victory celebrations?" He claimed that the police had said clearly that they could not provide a bandobast, as police personnel had done overnight duty on Tuesday following RCB's win, as there were celebrations across the city and they had no rest. "But, they (CM and DCM) misused their power and instructed to provide bandobast." Further alleging that celebration events were held by those heading the government, overruling the police department's opinion, Rajeev said, there was a lack of preparations for the crowd management. "Huge crowd had gathered there. This is nothing but complete negligence," he added.
