'Pain of tragedy has erased joy of victory': CM Siddaramaiah's first reaction on Bengaluru stampede that killed 11; magisterial probe ordered

NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief ministerSiddaramaiah on Wednesday said the state government was deeply saddened by the stampede that claimed 11 lives and left 33 injured during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations at Chinnaswamy Stadium.“This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow. Most of the deceased are youth,” Siddaramaiah said at a press conference in Bengaluru, flanked by deputy CM DK Shivakumar and home minister G Parameshwara.Siddaramaiah also said, "I don't want to defend this incident. Our government will not do politics on this. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry and given 15 days' time. People even broke the gates of the stadium.

There was a stampede. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came."The chief minister announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased and promised free treatment for the injured.“We shortened the programme and wrapped it up in 10 minutes. We are trying to make everything normal,” he said.In a post on X, Siddaramaiah wrote, “The pain of this tragedy has even erased the joy of victory.

May the souls of the deceased rest in peace, and may the injured recover soon. My condolences to the bereaved families. I appeal to the public to prioritise safety above everything else.”

Massive crowd, chaos, and political firestormThe incident occurred after thousands of fans thronged the stadium area despite the government cancelling the team’s roadshow for safety reasons. Fans tried to force their way in, causing a stampede at one of the gates.

Ambulances were delayed due to overcrowded roads.Police have been on crowd control duty since Tuesday night. Mild lathi-charge was used earlier at Vidhana Soudha where the felicitation event was held.

Opposition blames governmentBJP state president BY Vijayendra accused the government of poor planning and demanded a judicial probe, claiming “more than 11 people” had died and that “there was no police inside, no ambulance support.”BJP MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy termed the tragedy a “security failure”, saying authorities underestimated the crowd.AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi called the incident “heartbreaking” and urged accountability.