 "11 people lost their lives and 33 were left injured in the Chinnaswamy stampede. Image: X/Manni")
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally won their first-ever IPL title after beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League 2025 final on Tuesday, 3 June. The team returned to Bengaluru the next day via a chartered flight to celebrate their historic win with thousands of fans.
RCB players were first honoured by the Karnataka government at the Vidhana Soudha, where they met the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other top officials, including Deputy CM DK Shivakumar. After the felicitation, they headed to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for a celebration with fans.
But what was meant to be a night of joy turned into a nightmare. Even before the RCB team arrived in Bengaluru, tens of thousands of fans had already started gathering across the city to catch a glimpse of their heroes. The same happened at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the RCB team was scheduled to arrive in the evening.
The RCB team had announced free limited entry for fans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Many people showed up hoping to get a chance to go inside. However, the police stationed outside the stadium failed to control the massive crowd, leading to a stampede in which 11 people lost their lives and 33 were injured.
Watch disturbing scenes from the stampede
Now, disturbing and graphic visuals from the incident have started coming in on social media.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWho is responsible?
Notably, the Bengaluru Traffic Police had earlier cancelled RCB’s open-bus tour due to safety concerns.
Despite the tragedy, the Karnataka government, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and the RCB team went ahead with the programme. DK Shivakumar later admitted that the news of the stampede was shared with the RCB team and they were asked to finish the event quickly.
The team eventually complied but only after Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar completed their speeches and the players took a lap around the ground with the trophy.
The RCB issued an official statement hours after the incident and it took several more hours for them to announce a compensation for the families. However, the main responsibility lies on local authorities and the state government, who have ordered an inquiry into the matter.