Bengaluru stampede: Activist lodges police complaint against Virat Kohli

BENGALURU: A complaint has been filed against cricketer Virat Kohli at the Cubbon Park Police Station in connection with the June 4 stampede near Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left dozens injured.

The complainant, social activist HM Venkatesh, accused Kohli of promoting what he described as “gambling through IPL,” alleging it incited the massive crowd that led to the tragedy.

Police said the complaint will be considered under the already registered case and examined as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident.

In his complaint, social activist HM Venkatesh alleged that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is “not a sport but a gambling that has contaminated the game of cricket.”

“Virat Kohli of the Bangalore RCB team is the most prominent among those who participated in such gambling and incited people to gather in a specific place and caused this tragedy. Therefore, we request you to please make Virat Kohli and his team members accused in the FIR of this tragedy and take action,” Venkatesh stated in his complaint.

Meanwhile, a Bengaluru Sessions Court on Friday remanded four individuals, including senior Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) official Nikhil Sosale and three event managers, to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the stampede.

They were arrested in a joint operation by the Cubbon Park police and the Central Crime Branch (CCB) at Kempegowda International Airport in the early hours of June 6 (Friday).

Earlier in the day, the Karnataka High Court granted interim relief to the office bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), who had approached the court seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against them in connection with the stampede.

In an interim order, the court directed the state police not to take any coercive action against them until further orders.
The High Court adjourned the case to June 9.

KSCA President Raghu Ram Bhat, Secretary A Shankar, Treasurer ES Jairam, and other KSCA office bearers moved the High Court seeking to quash the FIR.

Nikhil Sosale also approached the High Court to challenge his arrest.

He claimed that he was arrested without any materials and even before the police had conducted a preliminary enquiry. He has thus sought to declare his arrest as illegal.

On Thursday, the Bengaluru police registered an FIR against the RCB franchise, DNA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., an event management company, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for culpable homicide, illegal assembly, and other serious charges.

A day after the stampede that claimed the lives of 11 people, the Karnataka police suspended multiple IPS officers, including the Bengaluru city police Commissioner, B Dayananda.

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. (ANI)