RCB victory parade stampede leaves 11 dead, court seeks government response

New Delhi: The death of 11 people in a stampede during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory parade has shocked the nation. The incident, which occurred on June 3 following RCB’s IPL win, has raised serious concerns over the lack of crowd management and emergency preparedness.

Public outrage has led to several questions: Was there no standard operating procedure (SOP) in place to prevent such a tragedy? Why were adequate medical teams, ambulances, and crowd control measures not arranged? Could the injured have been taken to hospitals more swiftly?

Acting on a public interest litigation, Karnataka High Court’s Executive Chief Justice V. Kameshwar Rao questioned the state government on whether any such guidelines were followed. The court has directed the government to submit a detailed report on the incident and posted the matter for further hearing on June 10.

Appearing for the state, Advocate General Sasikaran Shetty said the government was committed to complying with the high court’s directions and would not oppose the PIL.

Despite the deployment of 1,643 police personnel and the arrangement of water tankers for the massive crowd, the stampede resulted in the deaths of five women and six men. Fifty-six others sustained injuries.

Authorities estimate that around 2.5 lakh people had gathered in central Bengaluru to witness the celebration.