Karnataka govt releases SOPs for crowd management after Bengaluru stampede

BENGALURU: After the Bengaluru stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left many injured, the Karnataka government released Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Tuesday for managing crowds efficiently to ensure public safety and maintain law and order.

An official order from the office of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Bangalore said, “Crowd management at public events, ranging from festivals and rallies to sports celebrations, requires a strategic and well-coordinated approach. This SOP is issued to provide a standardised framework for managing crowds efficiently while ensuring public safety, protecting individual rights, and maintaining law and order.”

As per the order, the objective was to establish clear guidelines for planning, deploying, and executing crowd control measures at events involving large gatherings, with an emphasis on minimising risks, enhancing coordination, and ensuring a quick response to emergencies.

The order stated that the general principles of the SOPs include prioritising life safety, protecting rights, preventing property damage, and de-escalating potential conflicts.

It said that modern gatherings are often spontaneous and influenced by social media, necessitating adaptive strategies; therefore, early planning, coordination with stakeholders, and minimal use of force are essential guiding principles.

The order emphasised pre-event planning and preparation. This includes simulation and risk assessment, as well as conducting behavioural and spatial analysis simulations for crowd movement to identify bottlenecks and potential high-risk areas using available tools.

The order instructed to ensure venue compliance with safety standards, including capacity limits, entry and exit routes, emergency evacuation plans, and communication infrastructure. It added that venues failing safety audits must not be approved for high-footfall events.

The order said that police officers must liaise with organisers to gather critical details such as the nature, date, and time of the event, expected footfall and any counter-protests, assembly and dispersal plans, permit status and coordination with allied departments (fire, health), possibility of counterprotests and demonstrations, risk to nearby vital installations, past behavior at similar events and availability of emergency services and mutual aid.

Under the development of a crowd management plan, the order said that it should include assigned roles for police and security staff, movement control protocols for crowd flow, especially at critical choke points, emergency response plans, evacuation routes, medical aid arrangements, and a coordination strategy among all deployed agencies and use of digital ticketing and reserved seating to streamline entry.

The order stated that, under ground deployment and access control, officers must be placed at key access points, exits, and high-density areas, and ensure that all personnel are trained in crowd control, communication, and emergency protocols.

Upon entry screening and verification, the order instructed creating a spacious and organised holding area for crowd entry, implementing checkpoints with metal detectors, QR code scanning, or biometric systems to the extent possible, and ensuring separate access lanes for VIPs, the general public, and staff.

Meanwhile, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stated that it was the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who appear to be “prima facie responsible” for the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede that claimed 11 lives and left dozens injured.

The quasi-judicial body stated that RCB didn’t obtain permission from the police and posted about the gathering on social media platforms, which led to the assembly of approximately three to five lakh people. It said that police were not given sufficient time to make appropriate arrangements.

Eleven people died and more than 30 were injured in a stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy stadium as a huge crowd of nearly 3 lakh people had gathered to witness the victory celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru for winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) on June 4.

Following the incident, the Karnataka government suspended top police officials at the Cubbon Park Police Station on June 5 and formed a one-man commission under a retired High Court Judge to probe the incident. (ANI)