 "The M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Reuters")
A stampede at Gate no 3, 10, and 21 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru happened when thousands of fans gathered to celebrate the long-awaited victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025.
Eleven people were reportedly killed at the event organised by the Karnataka state government, CNN-News18 reported, citing sources. Seven deaths happened at the Bowering and Lady Curzon Hospital, while four more reportedly breathed their last at the Vaidehi hospital.
At least 31 others were reported injured. Injured persons have been admitted to the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.
While all the injured persons have been rushed to hospitals, the Cubbon Park metro station entry and exit gates have been closed temporarily. The metro station is located right next to the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Poor planning, crowd mismanagement
Poor planning and crowd mismanagement have been blamed for the tragedy. Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has apologised for the incident and urged groups to stay calm.
In a statement to reporters on site, he said, “I think this is not a controllable crowd. I apologise to all the people of Bengaluru and Karnataka, we wanted to take a procession, but the crowd is uncontrollable.”
Over 5,000 security personnel were deployed at the stadium.
Later, Shivakumar said that he had spoken to the Karnataka Police Commissioner regarding the incident and that he planned to go to the hospital where the injured were admitted.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsChief Minister Siddaramaiah, on the other hand, had headed straight to the hospital to take stock of the situation early on, according to a News18 report.
BJP blames Congress govt
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which sits in the opposition in the Southern Indian state, took a shot at the ruling Congress government via a social media post.
The party’s local leaders, Tejasvi Surya, in a post on X, said “While the state government & leadership were busy hogging their undeserving share of limelight in RCB’s victory with the CM himself making an open invitation for the celebration, no arrangements were made on the ground.”
Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy also took to X to hit out at Congress. “The primary reason for this massive tragedy is the lack of proper planning and complete failure to take precautionary measures. The state government, led by @INCKarnataka, must take full responsibility for this disaster.”
Along with ensuring the injured receive the best possible treatment, the government must immediately reach out to support the families of the deceased," he wrote.