Bengaluru: Celebrations descended into chaos and finally tragedy as 11 people lost their lives and more than 30 were left injured outside the Chinnaswamy stadium while trying to join a party inside the venue to honour Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL triumph here on Wednesday.
However, the felicitation of the players went ahead nonetheless as the stadium was packed to the rafters despite the chaos.
Much like last night when the team’s win in Ahmedabad triggered a street party in the Garden City, Wednesday too had thousands, which eventually became lakhs, converging at the Chinnaswamy stadium, leaving the police outnumbered and struggling to take control of the situation.
The men in uniform tried to use mild force to disperse the crowd or to at least bring some order but that did little to discourage people, many of whom could be seen pressed against the stadium’s entrance gate, desperate to get in.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that 11 had died and 33 were injured “due to stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium.”
“More than 2-3 lakh people came near Chinnaswamy Stadium, no one expected this crowd,” Siddaramaiah said.
“Most of deceased in RCB celebrations are youth. Government will provide Rs 10 lakh compensation to kin of deceased,” he added, while declaring that there will be a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
The injured are being treated at the nearby Vydehi hospital and Bowering hospital.
“Crowd was uncontrollable, police was finding it difficult, so we had to stop procession,” Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said while speaking about the tragedy because of which a planned victory parade could not take place.
The BCCI said the turn of events was shocking and the organisers should have been better-prepared.
“It’s most unfortunate, organisers should have planned RCB’s IPL-winning celebrations better,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI.
“When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions and security measures need to be taken,” he added.
Similar sentiments were expressed by IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, who said “Whatever inquiry that needs to be done, the concerned authorities will do that. It was not a BCCI event. It is sad and tragic.”
The political slugfest also started soon enough with the opposition BJP targetting the Congress-led government for not handling the situation properly.
However, inside the Chinnaswamy, the show went on with players delivering speeches to acknowledge each other and the fans amid thumping music and bursting of firecrackers as well.
“It’s for all of you – the fans, the people of this wonderful city, people who’ve supported RCB through thick and thin. I’ve never seen any fan base of any team in the world like this franchise,” said Virat Kohli, who was the cynosure of all eyes after ticking another box in his illustrious career.
This was after the Rajat Patidar-led team landed in Bengaluru in the afternoon, received by Shivakumar at the airport. RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the IPL final at Ahmedabad on Tuesday to clinch their maiden title in 18 years.
Patidar, like Kohli, also waxed eloquent about RCB’s loyal fans, considered by many as the most passionate along side the ones who adore Chennai Super Kings.
“You all deserve the trophy. We all love you,” Patidar said at the felicitation ceremony.
The scenes leading up to the tragedy reminded one of the historic welcome given to the T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad by Mumbai in July last year. However, while the sea of humanity had a gala time in Mumbai, things went haywire in the Garden City.
The much-anticipated open-top bus parade, which was allowed to proceed by Siddaramaiah from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, ultimately could not take place as crowd became unmanageable for the police.
The Bengaluru Traffic Police had already discouraged such a plan citing the congestion on the route.
At the Chinnaswamy stadium, fans jostled to sneak inside and it turned into a tragedy. Thousands were also seen waiting outside the Vidhana Soudha to cheer the players.
The rainy weather in the city didn’t help. The police had already endured a torrid time managing the crowd that flooded the streets to celebrate the triumph last night.
In visuals shared online, Kohli could be seen holding the trophy and watching in awe, thousands who lined up the team’s bus route, cheerfully waving at the convoy.
