New Delhi: Just a few hours before the stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) management had put up a social media post declaring about a public victory parade. The RCB management’s post will be investigated following the stampede tragedy that claimed 11 lives and left 47 injured.
The probe will also cover senior authorities of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), as Bengaluru Police and a magisterial inquiry panel are now inspecting their role in organising the felicitation ceremony of RCB.
The stampede triggered on Wednesday (June 4) afternoon as fans were celebrating RCB’s maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win after a long wait of 18 years.
It was at 3.14 pm on Wednesday that the official account of RCB on social media platform X posted an announcement saying that a ‘Victory Parade’ was to start at 5 pm from the Vidhana Soudha to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, after which a felicitation ceremony will be held inside the stadium. The post also gave a link for free passes, stating “limited entry” and urged fans to stick to guidelines laid down by the police.
The post said: “Victory Parade will be followed by celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium. We request all fans to follow guidelines set by police and other authorities so that everyone can enjoy the roadshow peacefully. Free passes (limited entry) available on shop.royalchallengers.com.”
🚨 RCB Victory Parade: Today at 5 pm IST. ‼️
Victory Parade will be followed by celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
We request all fans to follow guidelines set by police and other authorities, so that everyone can enjoy the roadshow peacefully.
Free passes (limited… pic.twitter.com/raJMXlop5O
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 4, 2025
The RCB’s only communication before June 4 came through the KSCA, which sent a letter on June 3 seeking permission to hold a felicitation ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha.
This is in complete contradiction of the Karnataka government’s previous contention that the ceremony was “planned at the last minute”. The Bengaluru Police had recommended to postpone celebrations by at least two days so that proper planning could be done.
Two events happening at the same time — one outside the Vidhana Soudha, where the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and Governor were supposed to honour the RCB team members, and another at the Chinnaswamy Stadium — resulted in total confusion.
Over one lakh people gathered outside the Vidhana Soudha, while the crowd inside and around the stadium was believed to be over three lakh. Bengaluru Police had redeployed a large number of officers to secure the government complex, which led to the police force being split between the two locations.
This apparently caused a lack of coordination, particularly at Gates 2, 2A, 6, 7, 16, 17, 18, and 21, where large crowds challenged the limited police and stadium staff present.
