New Delhi: The Bengaluru police reportedly warned Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against staging any type of celebrations in the city on Wednesday, advising the franchise to plan the victory parade on Sunday. However, those warnings were ignored, and the franchise went ahead with the celebrations, which turned fatal after 11 people lost their lives in a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the city.
Three teenagers, including a 14-year-old school girl, were among the deceased in the tragic incident, which has left the entire country in shock. Fans from across the state gathered around the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday to take part in RCB’s title celebrations and get a glimpse of their favourite players.
RCB had initially planned a victory parade on an open bus in the city, however, the plan was scrapped due to traffic congestion in the city. RCB players were welcomed to a rousing reception from a huge crowd at the Vidhan Soudha building, where they were felicitated by the Karnataka government. The players reached the Chinnaswamy Stadium later for a felicitation ceremony organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
As the RCB players arrived at the stadium, lakhs of fans packed a 35,000-seater Chinnaswamy Stadium, while thousands waited outside the venue to get a glimpse. Many tried to force their way into the stadium, resulting in chaos before a stampede broke out. Several videos on social media showed fans trying to break gates, climb fences in order to get inside the stadium.
Police had warned RCB
As per a report in the Deccan Herald, the RCB management was urged by the Bengaluru police not to conduct any celebrations on Wednesday, considering the emotions were high and the frenzy was unheard of. The police urged RCB to conduct the celebrations on Sunday to ensure proper arrangements were in place.
However, the franchise officials denied the police’s request as they were keen on holding the celebrations on Wednesday itself. The RCB management told police that they won’t have some of their player, including overseas ones by the end of the week.
“We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,” a police official was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald.
“We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there,” the official added.
RCB announces Rs 10 lakh for the families of deceased
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who have been widely criticised for the decision to let the celebrations continue inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium despite a stampede outside the venue, expressed their condolences in a statement on Wednesday. On Thursday, the franchise released another statement, announcing Rs 10 lakh for the families of 11 people who lost their lives in the stampede.
RCB informed in their statement on Wednesday that the felicitation ceremony was not called off, but shortened after they were made aware of the stampede incident. All RCB players, support staff and their family members were present inside the stadium where Virat Kohli addressed the crowd before leading a lap of honour.
The Bengaluru police reportedly warned RCB against conducting immediate celebrations in the city after their maiden IPL title victory. However, the franchise paid no heed. A stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru left 11 dead and many injured. IPL Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
