‘No scapegoats, magisterial enquiry ordered’: Minister Priyank Kharge on Bengaluru stampede

BENGALURU: Rural Development and IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday addressed the recent stampede incident in Bengaluru, stating that the officers responsible have been suspended and a magisterial enquiry has been ordered to investigate the matter.

Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, “The officers who are responsible have been suspended. We have made no scapegoats… A magisterial enquiry has been ordered and our next action will be according to the findings of the enquiry…”

Responding to criticism from the BJP, Priyank Kharge hit back saying, “BJP wants the CM, DCM, and the Home Minister to resign, so going by that same logic, Yogi Adityanath must resign, Amit Shah must resign for the Pahalgam attack, S Jaishankar must resign for the failure of foreign policy, and PM Narendra Modi must also resign for misleading the whole country…”

#WATCH | Bengaluru Stampede | Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge says, “The officers who are responsible have been suspended. We have made no scapegoats… A magisterial enquiry has been ordered and our next action will be according to the findings of the enquiry… BJP wants the… pic.twitter.com/lnA1DJNiGw

— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2025

“Was there no stampede in the Kumbh Mela? We don’t even know how many people died. We are at least owning up to our mistake and taking responsibility… We are not hiding casualties…,” Kharge said, adding, “Terrorists come into India and shoot down 26 people, and we don’t even know where the terrorists are, but no one asks for the resignation of the Home Minister Amit Shah”

He acknowledged that the state government could have planned better, “Yes, we could have planned better and done things in a better way, and we are looking into it…” On Thursday, Priyank Kharge had admitted that the stampede near M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which caused the death of 11 people, could have been prevented with better planning and coordination.

“Yes, there has been a mistake. This could have been avoided with better planning and coordination. A stadium with a capacity of 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people, poured out on the streets. Although we did our best, we were unable to manage the crowd”. He added that the Chief Minister has taken responsibility for the incident and assured that corrective measures will be implemented. Kharge also accused the BJP of politicising the tragedy.

“BJP likes to politicise everything. The same BJP, when told that a victory parade on an open bus in such a short time was not possible due to a lack of time to make arrangements, said that we were insulting the team. Now that post is deleted. BJP’s intention of politicising everything is not healthy,” he said.

Following the death of 11 people in the stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, the Karnataka police have suspended multiple IPS officers, including the Bengaluru city police Commissioner, B Dayananda. Senior IPS officer Seemant Kumar Singh took charge as the city police commissioner earlier today.

Apart from Dayananda, Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar HT, Assistant Commissioner of Police Balakrishna and Cubbon Park Police Inspector Girish AK were also suspended with immediate effect.

Notably, Karnataka Police filed an FIR against the Karnataka Cricket Board Administrative Committee, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), among others, in the Bengaluru stampede incident.’

In response, KSCA has filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking the quashing of FIRs filed against it. KSCA board of directors, including President Raghuram Bhat, Secretary A. Shankar, Treasurer E.S. Jairam, appealed for the cancellation of the FIR. The hearing on the petition will be held today in the afternoon by a bench of Justice Krishna Kumar. (ANI)