In the wake of the deadly stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium that left 11 people dead and over 50 injured, police on Friday detained officials linked to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and DNA Entertainment Private Limited, the agency that managed the ill-fated event. PTI sources in the police department confirmed that Nikhil Sosale, RCB’s Head of Marketing and Revenue, is among those being questioned, along with Sunil Mathew and Kiran Kumar, both from DNA Entertainment.
The detentions come a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordered immediate arrests of representatives from RCB, DNA Entertainment, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), blaming them for “irresponsibility” and “gross negligence” that led to the tragedy. A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed, with charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said that those responsible for the turn-of-events have been suspended and no one was made a scapegoat.
He said, "BJP wants the CM, DCM, and the Home Minister to resign, so going by that same logic, Yogi Adityanath must resign, Amit Shah must resign for the Pahalgam attack, S Jaishankar must resign for the failure of foreign policy, and PM Narendra Modi must also resign for misleading the whole country."
Bengaluru Stampede: Siddaramaiah Suspends Senior Police Officers
Taking swift administrative action, Siddaramaiah also suspended Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and several other senior officers, holding them accountable for the apparent security lapses.
“The incident should never have happened. Those responsible, no matter how big or influential, will face consequences,” Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
The tragedy has intensified political tensions in the state, with the opposition BJP calling for the resignation of both Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. The BJP has accused the Congress government of failing to manage crowd safety and of favouritism in allowing VIP access to the venue.
Responding to the political storm, Shivakumar hit back at the BJP, calling its reaction “opportunistic” and “disrespectful to the victims.”