Karnataka LoP urges CM Siddaramaiah to hand over Bengaluru stampede case to CBI

BENGALURU: The Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, on Saturday wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hand over the investigation into the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The stampede on 4th June led to the death of 11 people, while 56 were injured as people thronged to participate in the Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) team’s IPL victory celebrations.

“This case is a ‘black spot’ in the history of Karnataka sports. There has been an accusation-counter-accusation between the police and the state government on this issue,” Ashoka shared in a letter on X.

“It is reported in the media that the stampede happened because of the failure of the police to control the crowd. But the government has washed its hands by suspending the police officers. In this regard, the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, in the hearing on the petition filed regarding the suspension of an officer, opined that it is inappropriate to blame only the police officers for this,” he added.

LoP said that the question still remains as to who is the real culprit behind this case, which has resulted in the loss of the lives of innocent people.

“So, what I request is that, without any political involvement in this case, this case should be investigated by the CBI, the real culprits should be identified, and justice should be given to the innocent lives lost,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Karnataka government submitted a status report on the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede to the Karnataka High Court.The report has highlighted serious lapses and mismanagement within the Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise.

According to the state government, no formal permission was taken from the event organiser (DNA), merely informing the police about the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory parade on June 3 without seeking formal approval as mandated by the 2009 city order. Consequently, the police denied permission.

Despite police denial, RCB proceeded to publicly promote the event. On June 4, they shared open invitations on social media, including a video appeal by Virat Kohli, encouraging fans to attend the free-entry celebration, as per the report. (ANI)