‘Priority is to continue good work’: Seemant Kumar after taking charge of Commissioner of Bengaluru City police

BENGALURU: Newly-appointed Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar on Friday said his priority would be to continue the good work done by the city police so far and work towards further improvements.

Commissioner Kumar said, “I have just taken charge. As far as Bengaluru City police is concerned, it’s a very big city and the police as of now are doing good work so my priority is to continue the good work done by the city police and improve on that… We need some time to talk to the officers.”

“It’s a big city which has seen a lot of growth in population, area and the crime….as of now, basic policing is our priority. We are for the people and we want the city safe. We assure the people that whatever the best policing we can do, we will try our best through teamwork,” he added.

Earlier, Senior IPS officer Seemant Kumar Singh 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.

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.

#WATCH | Karnataka: Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh says, “…I have just taken charge previous night. Because of some circumstances, I was made to immediately take charge. As far as Bengaluru City Police is concerned, it’s a very big city and the City… pic.twitter.com/0tnI88V2xO

— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2025

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)