Karnataka HC orders state govt to make public report on RCB stampede

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has ordered the state government to publicly disclose its status report on the stampede incident outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium that occured during the celebrations of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team’s maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win.

The tragedy led to the death of 11 people and left over 50 injured. The state government had requested the High Court to keep the report confidential, but, as per ESPNCricinfo, the court on Monday categorically stated that there were no legal grounds for such confidentiality and they were merely “facts as perceived” by the government.

The court has also directed the state government to furnish the reports to the other parties involved in the case, the RCB franchise, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), DNA Entertainment Networks, the event partner of the Red and Gold franchise.

The franchise is, however, currently awaiting details which will come out after a thorough CID investigation. The team and DNA’s top authorities have submitted their testimonies over the past one month. A date for delivery of judgement is yet to be made public.

On July 1, the two-member bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), a quasi-judicial body handling matters related to government and public servants, made some key observations about the crowd that gathered outside the team’s home base.

The CAT noted that the franchise was responsible for drawing a crowd of around three to five lakhs outside the venue to participate in the celebratory victory parade, which was announced by the team on all their social media handles shortly after defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) to end the 18-year wait for the cup on June 3.

The CAT was given a task to investigate the matter after Vikas Kumar Vikash, the Inspector General and Additional Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru (West), filed a complaint seeking redressal following his suspension by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after the stampede took place.

All the victims died due to suffocation, as per the autopsy reports.

Vikash, along with four other officials, was suspended on the grounds of “substantial dereliction of duty” and not seeking “guidance” due to which the situation “went out of control”. The tribunal also stated that the franchise, which failed to seek important regulatory permissions to carry out the event, had “created a nuisance”. All these remarks were made in a 29-page order issued by CAT.

RCB’s Chief Marketing Officer, Nikhil Sosale, who was arrested and granted bail last month, has not issued any statement since the announcement of increased compensation for families of the dead and support to the ones who sustained injuries. The franchise also saught to form a ‘RCB Cares’ fund to help out people affected by the tragic stampede. There has been no update on team’s social media handles since June 4, the day when the stampede took place. (ANI)