Karnataka Government calls for cabinet meet; HC to hear stampede case

An injured being taken for treatment following a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, after a large number of fans gathered for the felicitation of IPL 2025 winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru team, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Wednesday
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The Karnataka government is set to hold a cabinet meeting at 3 pm in Vidhana Soudha today. This follows the stampede near Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday that claimed 11 lives and injured over 50, including a six-year-old girl. The crowd had gathered in anticipation of a celebratory event for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar also confirmed that the World Environment Day celebrations, that was scheduled for today, will be cancelled. “Tomorrow, except for the cabinet meeting, all programmes have been postponed. No celebrations, including World Environment Day…,” he told ANI news agency.

Stampede at Bengaluru stadium, several dead and many injured

Chaos near Bengaluru stadium, several RCB fans injured.
An evening meant to mark Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic IPL title win ended in tragedy on Wednesday, as a stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed 11 lives and injured more than 50.
The celebrations quickly spiralled out of control when thousands of fans thronged the area to catch a glimpse of the team and the trophy after RCB’s first-ever IPL championship victory over Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad.–Video Credits- PTIRohan Das (Intern with businessline)–Reporting-Rohan Das (Intern with businessline)Video Credit: Businessline

According to Bar and Bench, the Karnataka High Court has also agreed to hold a hearing on the stampede at 2:30 pm today.

On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah announced that he had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter which will be done by the Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner, with a 15-day deadline for the report.

Speaking to reporters, he said, “The cricket association organised the celebration, and we deployed police for security, sending all available personnel from Bengaluru. The stampede occurred at Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the gates are small and were broken as people tried to enter. The stadium’s capacity is 35,000, but nearly 2–3 lakh people showed up. I’ve ordered a magisterial enquiry, and those found responsible will be punished. I don’t want to defend the incident — the government will not politicise this. We deeply regret the tragedy.”

He announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for each of the deceased and said that the government will provide free treatment to the injured.

Meanwhile, according to news reports, the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka criticised the government for the lack of precautionary measures and demanded for a CBI or CID probe to look into the incident.

RCB and Karnataka State Cricket Association issued a joint statement announcing ₹5 lakh compensation for the victims’ families. “We are profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of life and the injuries sustained by individuals during this event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this incident. We sincerely regret this tragedy and stand in solidarity with the bereaved families during this extremely difficult time,” it said.

(Report filed by intern Nethra Sailesh)

Published on June 5, 2025