Seemant Kumar Singh takes charge as new Bengaluru Police commissioner after stampede fallout

BENGALURU: Senior IPS officer Seemant Kumar Singh on Friday morning took charge as the new commissioner of the Bengaluru City police.

Singh was announced as the new commissioner by the state government on Thursday night after it suspended then-commissioner B Dayananda following the death of 11 people during a stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4.

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.

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

#WATCH | Karnataka: Seemanth Kumar Singh took charge as the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City today.

B. Dayanand, the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, is one of the officers who have been suspended in the wake of Bengaluru stampede.

(Video: Bengaluru Police… pic.twitter.com/kRwAyDXcnb

— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2025

The FIR stated criminal negligence in the stampede incident. Sections 105, 125(1) (2), 132, 121/1, and 190 R/w 3 (5) have been invoked in the FIR.

The Karnataka High Court notified the state government over the stampede incident. The HC took suo motu cognisance of the incident and asked for a further status report.

CM Siddaramaiah also announced that the state government has decided to suspend top police department officials, including the Commissioner of Bengaluru City Police, emphasising the government’s commitment to ensuring accountability.

The Chief Minister said that action will be taken against those responsible for the mismanagement of the event. “On RCB, the event manager DNA Entertainment, and KSCA, who represented them, we have decided to arrest them,” Siddaramaiah said.

Referring to the deep sorrow caused by the incident, he said, “When I was speaking about the tragedy yesterday, 11 died and 47 were injured — all were in pain, and we still are. It was important to express our condolences and console the families.”

The CM added that the state cabinet discussed the matter seriously during its scheduled meeting and made firm decisions to prevent such tragedies in the future.

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