An evening of victory for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was a horrific tragedy as a tragic stampede outdoors M Chinnaswamy stadium claimed 11 lives and injured 47 others throughout IPL victory celebrations on Wednesday. What ought to have been a historic celebration for RCB followers has as an alternative grow to be a heartbreaking episode marked by mourning and political blame video games.

Deputy chief minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar (L) visits a hospital to examine on the well being situation of the victims of the stampede that occured in the course of the RCB cricket victory celebrations in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025. (AFP)

Soon after the information of the stampede broke out within the Congress-ruled Karnataka, chief minister Siddaramaiah expressed his deep condolences and introduced ₹10 lakh compensation for the victims’ kin.

“This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow over this incident,” he added.

‘I did not criticise Maha Kumbh stampede’

Ordering a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy with a deadline of 15 days, Siddaramaiah mentioned the incident shouldn’t be politicised, “Such incidents happened in many places, 50-60 people died in Kumbh Mela. I did not criticise. If the Congress criticises, that is a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?”

Karnataka CM was speaking in regards to the current stampede at Maha Kumbh mela within the BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh, which claimed the lives of at the least 30 individuals.

Also learn | Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka excessive courtroom takes suo motu cognisance, to listen to matter as we speak

Explaining what led to the stampede at Chinaswamy stadium, he mentioned, “The match happened last evening (Tuesday), and today (Wednesday) this event was organised by the cricket association. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came.”

“There were over 1.5 lakh people at the gates, banging and eventually breaking through in some places. The attempt to enter the stadium resulted in the stampede.”

He added, “There are small gates. The people entered through the gates. They have also broken the gates, so a stampede has taken place. Prima facie, it looks like that. I am not saying that nothing has happened. The inquiry will bring out facts.”

Opposition slams Congress over ‘state-orchestrated’ catastrophe

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya criticised the Congress-led state authorities, accusing it of turning the celebration right into a political spectacle with out sufficient preparation.

“The stampede was completely avoidable. It was state-orchestrated,” Surya mentioned, alleging that an open invitation by CM Siddaramaiah on social media triggered an uncontrollable flood of followers with out correct crowd and safety measures in place.

Also learn | Bengaluru stampede: What led to lethal crush at RCB’s IPL victory occasion?

“You cannot blame RCB, Virat Kohli, or even the fans. If there is anyone responsible, it is the CM and the deputy CM who wanted to hog undeserving limelight and made this an entire family function of the Congress leaders,” information company ANI quoted Surya as saying. 

He questioned the worth of the magisterial inquiry, “Keep this 15-day report yourself in your house. Who cares? Will this 15-day magisterial report help these families?”

Surya additionally appealed to the RCB administration: “It is the moral responsibility of RCB to also generously compensate the victims of this stampede. RCB and RCB’s superstar cricketers have made hundreds of crores from the love of fans… now it is time for RCB to also be in terms of distress and challenge with the fans and their families.”

Union minister HD Kumaraswamy blamed deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, “The person responsible for this tragedy must be immediately sacked from the cabinet,” he mentioned in New Delhi.

Slamming the Congress-led administration, Kumaraswamy mentioned, “We have a chief minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the deputy CM… The Congress government is being run by arrogant fools.”

BCCI distances itself

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, in the meantime, denied any position in organising the occasion. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal mentioned, “We had no information that such an event was being planned… If such events are planned in the future, then proper arrangements should be made.”

“We express condolences to the families of the deceased. A title win was to be celebrated; rather, the loss of lives is being mourned,” Dhumal added.

Rejecting accusations, he requested, “How can we be held responsible? Have you seen any IPL officials at the gate, managing the crowd?”

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia added, “There were some lapses. The BCCI has no role in it. But it’s a lesson to learn.”

Police say crowd was unmanageable

The Bengaluru police conceded that they had been overwhelmed. “The crowd was beyond our control,” a senior officer instructed HT on situation of anonymity. 

Police mentioned round 50,000 individuals packed a one-kilometre radius close to the stadium. Narrow gates and mass strain triggered the lethal crush. “We had to resort to a lathi charge at some points… the pressure of the crowd caused the tragedy,” mentioned the officer.

Fans had began gathering as early as afternoon, climbing bushes, scaling vehicles and partitions, and screaming “RCB! RCB!” in desperation for a glimpse of the gamers. While some had tickets, others with free passes reportedly pressured their approach in, contributing to the chaos.

Congress blames BJP for doing politics

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar promised an in depth probe and claimed, “We want to know the facts and give a clear message.”

He additionally countered the BJP’s assault, “BJP is doing politics… We are very sorry for the incident. We will work out a better solution in the future.” The state cancelled all authorities occasions, together with World Environment Day celebrations, in a present of mourning.

Reiterating Siddaramaiah’s sentiments, he mentioned, “We never expected such a big crowd. The stadium’s capacity is 35,000, but over 3 lakh people were there. Gates have been broken. We apologise for this incident.”

However, he defended the police drive’s efforts, saying, “I should compliment my Police officers… they guided us not to bring a vehicle procession from the airport… we were very cautious at Vidhana Soudha too.”

Bengaluru stampede timeline

The tragedy unfolded quickly on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of RCB followers thronged the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the workforce’s IPL victory celebration. 

  • By 3 PM, the stadium had reached full capability and gates had been shut, leaving tens of hundreds outdoors. 
  • As crowds surged at key entry factors, chaos broke out and a stampede ensued round 3:30 PM, leaving a number of trampled. 
  • Meanwhile, over a lakh individuals gathered at Vidhana Soudha the place the workforce was felicitated by the chief minister. 
  • The RCB squad reached the stadium by 5:30 PM however left quickly after as information of the deaths started to emerge. 
  • By night, the toll had risen to 11 lifeless and 47 injured, with emergency responders deployed in full drive.