DPAR permission to KSCA for Vidhana Soudha event reached police on June 5, document indicates

The letter from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), in-charge of Vidhana Soudha, giving permission to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to hold a felicitation for the IPL winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team on the grand steps of the administrative nerve centre of the State, was received at the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Vidhana Soudha Security) only on June 5.

The event was on June 4, the note by the inward section at the office shows. This has raised questions on the timeline of events, and how the letter could reach the police a day after the event.

The Hindu is in possession of the complete trail of the documents. The papers show that the DPAR writes to DCP (Vidhana Soudha Security) seeking his opinion for an event to felicitate RCB on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha if the team wins.

Flagging concerns

This letter is dated and signed June 3. In response to this letter, M. N. Karibasavana Gowda, DCP (Vidhana Soudha Security), wrote back flagging concerns over lack of time to prepare for security for the event, but said the police would abide by the decision of the government.

This letter has been dated and signed June 4. Following this, DPAR wrote to the CEO, KSCA, permitting them to hold the event on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha subject to 16 conditions. A copy of this letter, dated June 4, seems to have reached the police on June 5.

For all letters and documents that reach a police station or an office, the inward section assigns it a serial number, enters it in a register and marks it with a seal and sign.

The DPAR letter giving permission to the KSCA for the event, is marked with serial number 1656 and the official has signed the document marking the date June 5, 2025.

However, DPAR Secretary G. Satyavathi said that the allegations were “not true”. Despite multiple attempts, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh was not available for comment.

Multiple probes 

Presently, multiple probes — magisterial inquiry, judicial inquiry by Justice John Michael Cunha, and CID — into the stampede fiasco are mostly focusing on the events at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Amidst the IAS and IPS officials being at loggerheads, there have been demands from within the fraternity that the probe be expanded to all the happenings with respect to RCB victory celebrations in the city on June 4, including the event at the Vidhana Soudha.

Police officials have argued that the event at the stadium cannot be looked at in isolation, as the open-air event at the Vidhana Soudha and the confusion over the victory parade brought lakhs of fans to the streets, leading to overcrowding and stampede at the stadium.

Video clips

Two video clips which show the crowds gathered at the Vidhana Soudha being directed towards the stadium are also doing the rounds.

A senior IAS officer, speaking to television channels during preparations of the event on the grand steps, is heard saying that the Vidhana Soudha was only the starting point of the victory parade and appealing to RCB fans to not gather in large numbers at the Vidhana Soudha but go to the stadium.

By then Home Minister G. Parameshwara had announced that there would be no victory parade, sources claimed.

In another video, the anchor of the felicitation event at the Vidhana Soudha, announcing the end of the event, is heard appealing to the crowd to move towards the stadium, “if there was space”. 

“Any probe into the stampede fiasco that day has to look at all the events of the day holistically and not in a piecemeal manner,” a senior police official said.

Published - June 12, 2025 08:28 pm IST