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RCB Victory Celebrations Turn Tragic: Stampede Near Chinnaswamy Stadium Leaves Several Injured, Casualties Feared
Celebrations turned tragic in Bengaluru on Wednesday as a massive crowd gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL win after 18 years. The jubilant mood quickly turned into horror when a stampede broke out near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, leaving several people injured and casualties feared.
The chaos erupted during a public felicitation event organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to honour the RCB team. Thousands of fans had thronged the area to catch a glimpse of their cricketing heroes, but the situation soon spiralled out of control as crowd pressure mounted.
Eyewitnesses reported scenes of panic, with many people fainting amid the surge. Visuals from the area showed police personnel shifting unconscious and injured individuals to nearby hospitals. The influx of people also caused severe congestion at Metro stations near the stadium, where commuters poured out of trains in large numbers and crowded stairways.
At Bowring Hospital, ambulances were seen making multiple trips, dropping off the injured before returning to the stadium to transport more.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar admitted to the lapse in crowd control. "The crowd was uncontrollable," he said. "I apologise for the overcrowding. We had arranged for more than 5,000 police personnel. This is a young, vibrant crowd—we can’t use lathis on them," said Shivakumar.
The tragedy has sparked a political row, with the BJP holding the Congress-led state government responsible for what they called a complete failure in planning and public safety.
"Many are battling for life after a stampede due to the irresponsibility of the Congress government. No crowd control measures. No basic arrangements. Just chaos,"* the BJP Karnataka unit posted on X. "While innocent people died, Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar were busy shooting reels and hogging the limelight with cricketers. Shame on this photo-op Congress government. This is criminal negligence," they added.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also criticised the state leadership. "A celebration has turned into a nightmare. At an event organised by the Karnataka State Government to celebrate RCB’s IPL campaign, a stampede broke out due to poor planning and crowd mismanagement. This heartbreaking incident could have been avoided. The lack of basic administrative foresight and failure in crowd control by the state government has led to an irreparable loss. Accountability must be fixed. Lives were lost due to negligence, not chance," posted Malviya.
