At least 11 people died and more than 40 were hurt when a stampede happened outside Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were ready to celebrate their IPL 2025 victory, but things went wrong just before the event started inside the stadium.
Around 5 pm, reports came in about injuries and deaths outside the stadium. But the celebration inside still continued. IPL Governing Council Chairman Arun Dhumal called the RCB team, who did not know what was happening outside. The team promised to finish the event quickly, but by then, a lot of damage had already happened outside.
Read more: Why Was RCB’s Victory Parade in Bengaluru Suddenly Cancelled?
Even after the IPL chair called them, why didn’t the event stop? TimesofIndia.com asked RCB for a comment, but they have not replied yet.
This tragedy shows that the event was not planned well. Many innocent people lost their lives and the city panicked, even though everyone was excited to celebrate RCB’s first IPL title. The event management company, DNA, was only told to handle the sound and stage inside the stadium.
There were not enough preparations, and the large crowd outside overwhelmed the security guards. There was also confusion about the team’s open bus parade with the IPL trophy, which could have made things worse.
BCCI Secretary Davajit Saikia called the incident “very unfortunate” and said the organisers should have done a better job.
Also See: RCB’s 2025 Glory Puts Them on the Brink of Becoming IPL’s Most Valuable Team!
“People love their cricketers a lot. Organisers must plan such big celebrations carefully with proper safety and security. Something went wrong here. After a great IPL win, this is a sad ending. We had similar celebrations before, like last year when Kolkata Knight Riders won, and nothing like this happened,” said Saikia.
Many such celebrations have happened in the past. So, did the officials not get enough time to prepare for this big event?
Could it have been handled better?
Who is responsible — the event company, the team, or the government?
There are many questions, but no clear answers yet.
