Stampede: Why were senior police officers not arrested, ask RCSPL, DNA executives

Why were the senior police officers, prima facie found guilty of dereliction duty and placed under suspension, and Chief Minister’s Political Secretary, who was removed from the post, not arrested by the police in connection with the June 4 stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy stadium?

This question was asked before Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar of the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday by Senior Advocate representing four arrested persons, associated with the Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL), which owns RCB team, and DNA Networks Pvt Ltd, which is the official event manager for RSCPL, during the hearing of the petitions questioning the legality of their arrest.

No documents given

On what basis have the police arrested Nikhil Sosale, Head (Marketing and Revenue), RCSPL; Sunil Mathew, Director, and Kiran Kumar, Event Manager of DNA; and Shamant N.P. Mavinakere, a freelancer with DNA, asked Senior Advocate Sandesh J. Chouta while pointing out that no documents as per the law were given to them by the police.

Neither the names of the petitioners were found in the FIR nor the roles of these four persons were narrated in the remand applications produced before the jurisdictional court, Mr. Chouta argued, questioning why the Government did not order the arrest of senior police officers even after finding them prima facie guilty of dereliction of duty when 11 persons died due in stampede.

Meanwhile, Advocate-General Shashi Kiran Shetty, who was on June 9 asked by the Court to inform whether the Chief Minister had made a statement to the media that he had ordered arrest of officials of RCB and others, sought time till June 11 to reply the court’s query and to the arguments put forward on behalf of the arrested persons. The Court had asked A-G to confirm on Chief Minister’s statement as the petitioners claimed that their arrest was solely on the Chief Minister’s directions, which was illegal.

Suo motu case on June 12

Meanwhile, a Division Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice C.M. Joshi, which on June 5 took suo motu cognisance about the death of 11 persons in the stampede, adjourned further hearing till June 12 as the A-G took time reply to the nine questions posed to the State government by the Bench.

Mr. Shetty said that he would file reply to the court in a sealed cover while contending that disclosure of certain aspects of government’s reply could be made use of by persons arrested to seek bail. The A-G claimed that the information given to the Bench on June 5 that probe of the stampede cases were transferred to the CID was being used by arrested persons to challenge legality of their arrest.

Published - June 10, 2025 08:03 pm IST