Follow UsMultiple people tragically lost their lives in a stampede-like situation outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title celebrations on June 4 (Wednesday).
Several others are reportedly in critical condition after gathering outside the stadium to celebrate RCB’s historic IPL 2025 victory. RCB defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final on Tuesday, and a victory parade was organised near the Chinnaswamy Stadium to mark the occasion.
After RCB players arrived in Bengaluru, they went to Vidhana Soudha, where they met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The franchise had announced that there would be an open-bus parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy, but that has now been cancelled due to unfortunate circumstances.
According to ESPNcricinfo, 11 people lost their lives during the stampede. The injured have been admitted to the nearby Bowring and Lady Curzon and Vaidehi Hospitals.
"People were supposed to witness RCB's IPL victory celebrations. The tragedy and death have brought deep pain and shock," Karnataka's deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said on social media.
"My condolences to the deceased. My condolences to their family. Let there be pride, but not bigger than life. I appeal to everyone to please stay safe."
The stampede happened at gates 3, 10 and 21 at Chinnaswamy, and the nearby metro stations were also shut down. The police had to use mild force to control the situation.
"I don't want to defend this incident. Our government is not going to do politics on this. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry and given them 15 days' time. There are only small gates at the stadium, hope you've visited the stadium. People entered through the gates and broke them," said CM Siddaramaiah.
"A stampede took place, no one expected such a huge crowd. Capacity of the stadium is only 35,000, but two-three lakh people have come to participate in the celebration. I'm not denying or saying nothing happened, that's why I've ordered an enquiry. The pain of this tragedy has also erased the joy of victory."
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia added: "It is very unfortunate. This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better. My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. I wish early recovery of the injured.
"When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions, safety and security measures need to be taken. There have been some lapses somewhere."
(Featured image from X)