By The Sampadak Express
In the wake of the tragic stampede at a public celebration event hosted by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced an increase in ex gratia compensation from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh for the families of those who lost their lives.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where thousands of RCB fans had gathered to celebrate the team’s qualification for the IPL playoffs. Chaos erupted when crowd control measures failed, leading to a deadly stampede. Several people lost their lives, and dozens more sustained injuries some of them critically.
Following the incident, the Karnataka Police filed a case on Thursday, naming office bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), senior executives from RCB, and DNA Entertainment Networks, the event’s management partner. They have been booked under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
However, on Friday, the Karnataka High Court granted interim protection from arrest to KSCA president Raghuram Bhat, secretary A. Shankar, and treasurer E.S. Jairam. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar directed the state government and police not to initiate coercive action until the next hearing and instructed the petitioners to fully cooperate with the investigation.
In their plea, KSCA representatives sought the quashing of the FIR, contending that the association had no role in organizing the event. Their counsel argued that KSCA merely acts as the custodian of the stadium affiliated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and only provided the venue and infrastructure to RCB and DNA Entertainment.
The petition claimed that the FIR was filed “under intense pressure” and without a preliminary inquiry.
In response to the incident, the state government has suspended several officials from the Bengaluru city police and municipal administration, citing serious lapses in planning and crowd management. A high-level probe has been initiated, and multiple organizers are being questioned.
The tragedy has ignited public outrage across the state, with widespread demands for accountability. Opposition leaders have called for stringent legal action against all those responsible, including private organizers and stakeholders.
