Bengaluru stampede: 'Free ticket' rumour sparked stadium chaos

BENGALURU: Gate No. 7 - which gives a sweeping view of those coming into Chinnaswamy Stadium through the main entrance - turned out to be a death trap after rumours started floating that free tickets would be distributed there.In minutes, the gate turned into an epicentre of panic and disorder as fans who had gathered in massive numbers to celebrate RCB's first ever IPL victory fell over each other in a mad scramble for tickets."People completely lost control. It was a disaster," said Achimanya from Rajajinagar neighbourhood. Sudden rain around 5.30pm made the situation worse.The stadium has 21 stands with 13 gates. While gates 9 and 10 were reserved for state cricket association members, gates 5, 6, 7, 19 and 20 - located along the team's main entry route - saw the highest concentration of crowds.

Maximum casualties were reported from gate 7.Poor crowd management and dilly-dallying over allowing a victory parade through the city contributed to the unfolding tragedy. "There was an ambulance with 40 injured people. I was lucky to get out in time. Even police were struggling to manage the crowd," said Avinash S (31) from RR Nagar.Sinchana N (25), who got caught in the melee, said, "I could avoid the worst only because I reached late. Cops were not controlling the crowd in the real sense, and were just pushing people around."As ambulances struggled to negotiate their way through the crowds, police resorted to lathicharge near Cubbon Park Circle around 6.30 pm to disperse the crowds.