The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to report its position on the tragic stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the royal challenging Bengaluru (RCB) IPL victory ceremony. The incident after the RCB, who won their first IPL title, died and more than 50 injured. The government had asked the report to remain confidential, but the court said that there were no “legal basis” to keep it private. It states that in the report only “facts are considered” by the government. The court also asked the government to share the report with all the parties involved in the case, including RCB franchise, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and DNA Entertainment Networks, RCB event partner. RCB is currently waiting for more clarity than CID investigation. Both franchise and DNA officials have testified their testimony in the last month. A date for the final decision has not been announced yet.
On 1 July, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) made some strong observations about the crowd gathered outside the stadium. The tribunal said that RCB’s social media posts invited fans to join the parade after the June 3 win over Punjab Kings (PBK), which attracts an estimated 3 to 5 million people. The cat was asked to investigate after the IG of Bengaluru (West) and additional Police Commissioner Vikash Kumar filed a complaint after his dismissal. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had removed Vikash and four other officers, blamed him for “adequate insult to duty” and did not take appropriate steps to control the mob.
Voting
Should the Karnataka government make the stampede report public?
The tribunal stated that the RCB franchise did not search for major regulatory permissions and “created a disturbance.” These comments were made in the 29-page order issued by CAT. RCB Chief Marketing Officer Nikhil Sosel, who was arrested and granted bail, has not commented ever since. The franchise had announced a plan to start the ‘RCB Care’ fund to help the stampede affected people, but there has been no update since June 4 – the day the tragedy took place.
