Bengaluru stampede: A sea of cheers drowned out by wailing sirens

A crowd of fans gather in large numbers during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s felicitation ceremony after their winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, in front of Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

What began as a day of rapturous celebration over the IPL victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) turned into one of crushing tragedy in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025 evening, when 11 people — all aged below 40 — died and scores of others were injured when a massive build up of fans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium led to chaos and stampede.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident that drew sharp criticism over failed crowd management by the opposition. He also announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh to the families of the deceased fans.

An open-air felicitation to the RCB team — to mark its historic first IPL title win in 18 years — on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha and confused messaging over a victory parade by the team in Bengaluru, despite the city police never clearing it, brought over two lakh people onto the streets, sources said.

Desperate to get a glimpse of the famed trophy and the players of RCB, the crowds resorted to climbing trees, compound walls and even roofs of buildings. It was at the stadium that things came to a head, eventually leading to a stampede.

Due to overcrowding and narrow passageways, the 32,000-capacity stadium, already packed to the brim, witnessed a deadly rush leading to the tragedy. Doctors attributed all the deaths to asphyxia, a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death.

The Karnataka High Court has directed the Advocate General to get instructions from the State Government on the deaths caused by the stampede. Meanwhile, in a move that raised eyebrows, Bengaluru City Police did not register any First Information Report (FIR) regarding the stampede. Instead, they filed 11 separate Unnatural Death Reports (UDRs). 

On June 5, 2025, State Home Minister G. Parameshwara said that the Karnataka government has decided to formulate a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mega events, meetings and celebrations aimed at preventing any untoward incidents in the future.

Published - June 05, 2025 03:47 pm IST