Bengaluru: A cheerful victory celebration in Bengaluru turned tragic when a stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium killed seven fans and injured dozens after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first IPL title.
RC Bengaluru’s historic IPL 2025 victory over Punjab Kings by six runs on June 3 witnessed wild celebrations across Bengaluru. Hundreds had assembled outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 to be a part of the team members’ celebration for their victory, organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association. The over-crowded stands precipitated a wild stampede at the stadium’s gates, and especially at Gate No. 3, where fans jostled to get a glimpse of players like Virat Kohli and the captain, Rajat Patidar.
Police found it difficult to control the crowd at 5:30 pm IST in a tense situation. At least seven people, including a child, lost their lives, while over two dozen others suffered serious injuries. Ambulances took the injured to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital and to Vydehi Hospital, but heavy traffic on the roads delayed the ambulances. Security personnel had to use mild force, including a lathi-charge, to control the crowd after some fans started climbing walls and banging gates.
The heavy traffic and rain cancelled the open-bus victory parade that was supposed to extend from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, funnelling fans into the stadium instead. Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar had earlier similarly greeted the RCB team at Vidhana Soudha and had presented Kohli with the Kannada flag.
Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar apologised and said, “I apologise to everyone – to the people of Bangalore and the people of the government; we were supposed to take a procession, but the crowd is unmanageable.” A senior police official said, “We did anticipate a big crowd, but it wasn’t expected to be so crowded and quite a nightmare to manage.” X users echoed public sentiments, with one posting, “Lives lost on what should’ve been joyous. Heart-wrenching.”
The BJP slammed the Congress-led state government. Party leader Amit Malviya stated, “We could have avoided this heartbreaking incident.” The lack of ordinary administrative foresight resulted in a loss beyond repair. The Bengaluru Metro shut down services at stations at Cubbon Park and Dr B. R. Ambedkar to prevent more overcrowding, and the police advised fans to stay home and catch the celebrations on livestream.
The tragedy of the RCB’s long-sought IPL triumph will resurrect questions about crowd management and safety at major events. The government has begun an investigation to prevent a repeat of this tragedy, even as Bengaluru mourns.
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