Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar broke down, as he addressed the media for the first time, post the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Congress leader recalled the words of a woman, who had lost her son, during the stampede which took place as people gathered to celebrate the victory of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). The woman reportedly did not want a post mortem of her son’s body.
Shivakumar however, with tears filled in his eyes, said that he could not grant the request of the woman, to not have a post mortem done on her son, as there was a legal process involved.
Accountability will be fixed: Shivakumar
Talking about the tragedy and the blame game between political parties, Shivakumar said that it does not matter who gave permission for the event at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is not important, as accountability will definitely be fixed. He said that post a thorough investigation, action will be taken against the erring officials.
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Not only that, the Congress leader also addressed the backlash that his government was facing from the Opposition, BJP regarding the crowd management in the area, during the victory celebrations. He said, “We must learn an administrative lesson, let the opposition do politics on dead bodies. I will list how many dead bodies they have done politics on. But it hurts to see the little children. I have seen their pain.”
#WATCH | Bengaluru: Karnataka DCM DK Shivakumar breaks down as he comes out to address the media for the first time after the #BengaluruStampede. pic.twitter.com/1GDMZOBAm4
— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2025
He said that the Congress does not want to do politics over the matter and blamed the BJP for turning the tragic incident into a political agenda.
Soon after the tragedy on Wednesday, Shivakumar offered an apology and said that the stadium had a capacity of 35,000 people, but lakhs of people turned up to participate in the victory celebrations of RCB, which led to chaos and overcrowding.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara said that approximately 8 lakh people had turned up for the event. This was much more than the crowd estimated by the administration.
Compensation for victims
The Karnataka government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those killed in the tragic incident. Apart from this, a magisterial enquiry has also been ordered in the incident. The announcement for the same was made by CM Siddaramiah himself at a press conference. A total of 11 people died in the stampede and 48 were injured.
Talking to the media, Siddaramiah said, “I don’t want to defend this incident. Our government will not do politics on this. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry and given 15 days’ time. People even broke the gates of the stadium. There was a stampede. No one expected such a huge crowd.”
The Congress government in the state has come under sharp criticism from the opposition BJP, following the stampede. They blamed the mishap on the Congress leaders directly, saying that the government had not anticipated the rush, considering many leaders had been talking about a possible RCB victory this time and celebratory mood was high before the event, which could have indicated a huge crowd turnout.
